TN 

24 

.64 

S63 

1889 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/economicgeologic01spen 


ECONOMIC 

l/ 

Geological  Survey, 

— IN — 

GEORGIA  AND  ALABAMA, 

THROUGHOUT  THE  BELT  TRAVERSED  BY  THE 

Macon  & Birmingham  Railway, 


EMBRACING  A SURVEY  OF  THE 

MINERAL-RESOURCES,  BUILDING-MATERIALS,  TIMBERS, 
WATER-POWERS,  SOILS,  ETC, 


BY  J.  W.  SPENCER,  M.  A.,  Ph.D.,  F.  G.  S. 
Professor  of  Geology,  University  of  Georgia, 

1SS9. 


ATHENS:  J.  E.  GARDNER  PRINTER. 


S7^o 


t*!  °i 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

1.  GEOLOGICAL  AND  PHYSICAL  EEAUliES  OP  THE  BELT 


EXPLORED. 5 

Geological  Table  5 

Archaean  Group  or  Metamorphic  Rocks 7 

Cambrian  System  10 

Acadian  or  Ocoee  Series  10 ; Potsdam  Series  11;  Knox  or 
Calciferous  Series  12. 

Caaibro-Silurian  System  14 

Silurian  system - 14 

Clinton  series,  14. 

Devonian  System  15 

Carboniferous  Systeai 16 

Lower  or  Sub-Carboniferous  series  16;  Coal  Measures  17. 

Mesozoic  Systeai 19 

Cenozoic  Systeai 19 

II.  MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

A. — Iron  Ores, (occurrence,  quantity,  quality) 21 

Magnetite  21 ; Hemetite  22 ; Limonite  23 ; Siderite  23. 

Red  Eemititeof  the  Birmingham  District 2 


Mode  of  occurrence  24;  Quantity  24;  Analyses  and  quali- 
ity  of  Red  Ore  26. 

Brown  Ore  of  the  Talladega  Valley 27 

Occurrence  and  mining  28 ; Quantity  28 ; Analysis  and 
quantity  of  Brown  Ore  31. 

Other  Brown  Ores  Adjacent  to  the  Survey 33 

West  of  the  Coosa  River  33;  In  Little  Cahaba  Valley — 
Leed — 33 ; Analyses  34 ; East  of  Blue  Mountain  and  in  Clay 
County  34;  Summary  of  Localities  of  Brown  Ores  35. 

B — Coal 36 

Coosa  Coal  Field 36 

Cahaba  Coal  Field 37 

Table  of  Thickness,  38;  Analyses  and  quality  40;  Product  42. 

Warrior  Coal  Field 43 

Thickness  and  quantity  43;  Analyses  and  quality  43;  Analy- 
ses of  Coke  44 ; Product  45. 

C — Liaiestone  and  Marble. 

• Limestone  near  Birmingham 


45 


Quantity  46;  Analyses  47. 

Limestone  in  Valley  of  Little  Cahaba 47 

Limestone  near  the  Coosa  Riyer 47 

Limestone  in  the  Talladega  Valley 47 

Marbles 48 

Quantity  aud  Quality  48. 

Lime 49 

D — Notes  on  Iron  Manufacture 

Iron  of  the  Birmingham  District 50 

Product,  50;  Cost  of  Iron  57;  Use  of  Brown  ore  with  the 
Red,  52. 

Probable  Sites  for  New  Furnaces 52 

Iron  of  Talladega 52 

Products,  53;  Transportations  of  Coke  53;  Cost  53:  Qualityof 
Iron  53. 

Iron  ofIronaton  (Charcoal  Furnace) 53 

Product,  Cost  of  Iron,  quality  54. 

Iron  of  Jantper 54 

Iron  of  Anniston 55 

Product  and  cost  of  ore  55. 

Clay  County  Ores 55 

F — Gold 56 

G — Copper  and  Iron  Pyrites 59 

H — Graphite 60 

I — Barytes,  Asbestos,  Mica,  Corundum,  Tin 61 

J — Granite 62 

Localities  and  Quality  63. 

K — Sandstones  and  Flags 64 

Sand  for  Glass,  64. 

L — Sands,  Gravels,  and  Clay 65 

Building  Sand  65 ; Ballast  65 ; Brick  and  fire  clay  65. 

M — Hoofing  Slates 66 

III.  FOREST  TREES. 

Pines 67 

Oaks  (and  Tan-bark) 6S 

IV.  SOILS. 

Geological  Source,  Plant  Food 69 

Archaean  Soils 70 

Zone  of  Archaean  lands. 

Gray  Lands 71 

Analyses,  Fertility  71. 

Red  Lands .72 

Analyses,  Fertility,  72. 

Physical  Features 73 


Distribution 'of  the  Soils  along  the  Macon  and  Birmingham 


Railway 78 

Lower  Paleozoic  Soils 74 

Limestone  soils  in  Coosa,  Talladega  and  other  valleys,  and 
Cherty  ridges  74  and  75. 

Carboniferous  Soils  76 

Cretaceous  and  Southern  Drift  Soils 76 

Cultivation  and  Price  of  Land 76 

Use  of  fertilizers,  77. 

Population 78 

Climate  and  Water 78 

Y.  WATER-POWERS. 

Roger’s  Shoals  on  Potato  Creek 80 

Tobler’s  Shoals : 80 

Powers  near  Louina,  on  the  Tallapoosa 81 

Powers  at  Bluff  Springs  and  Hillabee 81 

Powers  at  Craigdale  or  Taylor’s  Mills 81 

Powers  at  Coosa  River  and  at  Landrum’s  Mills 81 

VI.  SPRING  AND  RESORT. 

Warm  Springs 82 

Chandler’s  Springs 82 

Craigdale 83 

VII.  SUMMARY  OF  FREIGHT  PRODUCED  ALONG  THE  RAIL 

WAY 84 

Length  and  Grade 84 

Tonnage  of  Iron  from  Birmingham 84 

Tonnage  of  Iron  from  Talladega 84 

Tonnage  of  Coke  and  Ores  from  Talladega,  85;  Room  for 
furnaces,  85. 

Tonnage  from  Ironaton,  Janiper,  Anniston 85 

Coal  Products 85 

Limestones,  Marble,  etc., 85 

Other  Minerals 86 

Timber 86 

Mill  Sites  near  Water-Powers  86 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 
Geological  Map.  Frontispiece. 


Fig.  1.  Ridges  of  Ivnox  Dolomite 13 

Fig.  2,  Section  of  Coal  Measures 39 

Plate  I.  Brown  ore  Mines  Opposite  page 28 

Palte  II.  Roger’s  Shales “ 80 

Plate  III.  Taylor’ sMills “ 83 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  following  report  is  the  result  of  a geological  recon- 
naissance of  the  belt  of  country  between  Macon,-  Ga.,  and 
Birmingham,  Ala.;  traversed  by  the  line  of  the  proposed 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway,  The  collected  informa- 
tion of  economic  importance  is  given  in  the  following 
pages.  This  survey  crosses,  in  part,  a rich  agricultural 
country;  in  part,  a mineral  belt  of  wonderful  wealth;  and  in 
part,  a hilly  country  valuable  chiefly  for  its  timber.  There 
are  great  belts  of  Iron  and  Coal,  of  Granite,  Marble,  Lime- 
stone. Sandstone,  White-sand  and  Brick  clays — all  in  un- 
limited quantities, — besides  extensive  deposits  of  Pyrites 
and  Gold,  etc.  The  Agricultural  and  timber  resources  are 
scarcely  less  varied.  The  Water-Powers  are  numerous, 
and  already  the  sites  of  many  small  mills,  supplying  local 
demands  partly  utilize  them.  In  many  cases,  these  sites 
will  form  centres  for  towns  when  the  country  is  opened  up 
by  railway  communication.  By  glancing  over  the  table  of 
contents,  the  varied  resources  are  seen  at  a glance.  Atten- 
tion is  also  called  to  the  Summarv  of  the  freight — producing 
resources  at  the  end  of  this  report.  This  report  is  not  only 
the  result  of  several  month’s  labor  in  the  field,  but  also  of 
invaluable  assistance  rendered  by  my  friend.  Prof.  E.  A. 
Smith,  State  Geologist  of  Alabama,  and  by  Prof.  Hen- 
ry McCalley  and  Mr.  Joseph  Squires,  of  the  State  Survey; 
by  Mr.  G.  W.  Chambers,  of  Talladega;  by  Mr.  Jasper  Wil- 
liams of  Clay  County;  by  Mr.  Brainard,  chemist.of  Birming- 
ham, by  Dr.  William  Taylor,  of  Talladega,  and  by  several 
otherg  en tie  men, 


1— GEOLOGICAL  AND  PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF 
THE  BELT  EXPLORED. 

In  order  to  make  intelligible  the  relationship  of  the  dif- 
ferent minerals  to  the  various  rock  formations,  a short  out- 
line of  the  elements  of  the  structural  geology  will  he  neces- 
saiy.  Even  the  effects  of  the  agents,  which  have  been  at 
work  in  moulding  the  land  surfaces  into  mountains,  plains, 
and  valleys,  obliterating  valuable  minerals  in  some  places, 
and  exposing  them  in  others,  depend^  directly  upon  the 
constitution  of  the  rocks,  and  their  arrangement,  which  may 
be  called  geological  structure.  The  relative  ages  of  the  dif- 
ferent groups  of  rocks  examined  varies  from  those  of  the 
highest  antiquity  to  others  of  extreme  youth,  consequently 
the  agents  which  have  caused  the  rocks  to  decay  have  pro- 
duced, in  the  physical  features,  results  of  great  variety. 

In  passing  along  the  line  of  survey,  a glimpse  of  each  of 
the  great  geological  groups  may  be  seen,  and  also  of  many 
of  the  systems,  although  the  distance  is  only  230  miles. 

The  following  table  gives,  the  geological  formations 
found  along  the  line  of  survey,  in  descending  order: 


Group — Era. 

System — Period. 

Series — Epoch. 

Modern. 

Alluvial  deposits. 

Cenozoic. 

Pleistocene. 

Gravels  and  loam. 

Pliocene. 

Wanting  alonglin  e 

Miocene. 

i(  (( 

Eocene. 

“ 

Mesozoic. 

Cretaceous. 

Lower  (only). 

Sand  & white  clay. 

Jurassic, 

Wanting. 

Group — Era. 

System — Period. 

Series — Epoch. 

Triassic. 

Wanting. 

Pal.eozoic. 

Permian. 

Wanting. 

Carboniferous. 

Coal  measures. 

Mill-stone  Grit. 

f Lower  or  Sub- 
1 Carboniferous. 

Coal  beds,  shales 
and  sandstone. 
Sandstones,  con- 
glomerates, .etc. 
Limestones  etc. 

Devonian. 

Mostly  wanting. 

7^~ 

Silurian. 

Clinton. 
Other  series 
wanting. 

Red  iron  ore  bed, 
sandstones,  shales. 

Cambro— Silurian 

Trenton. 

Limestones.  Other 
series  not  important 

Cambrian. 

Caleiferous  or 
Knox. 

Limestones,  shales, 
brown  iron  ores. 

Potsdam. 

Sandstones  and  san- 
dy shales. 

Acadian  or  Ocoee. 

S e m i-metamorphie 
slates  and  conglom- 
erates. 

AkCHA5AN. 

Huronian. 

Hydromica  schists, 
gneisses,  iron  ore. 

Laurentian. 

Gneiss  and  horn- 
blende gneiss  and 
mica  schists. 

Granites. 

Some  of  the  geological  systems  are  wanting  in  whole  or 
in  part,  whilst  others  are  represented  by  great  thicknesses 
of  rocks.  The  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  is  however 
more  widely  divided  amongst  the  different  systems  than 
might  at  first  sight  be  supposed. 


7 


THE  ARCHAEAN  GROUP 

The  word  Archaean,  meaning  “ancient”  is  the  name  given 
to  the  oldest  known  rocks.  It  is  from  these  rocks  decayed 
that  many  of  the  soils  along  the  country  traversed  have  been 
formed.  Some  of  the  rocks  have  been  molten,  as  the 
granites,  others  have  been  deposited  in  the  state  of  muds  in 
very  ancient  seas,  hardened  into  rocks,  and  subsequently 
‘metamorphosed’  or  turned  into  masses  with  a crystalline  tex- 
ture. This  metaniorphism  passes  through  all  stages  from 
that  of  a highly  crystalline  texture  to  a structure  almost 
without  crystalline  appearance.  Except  along  the  western 
margin  of  the  crystalline  belt,  all  such  rocks  belong  to  the 
Archaean  group,  which  extend  from  near  Macon  to  the  wes- 
tern margin  of  Clay  County  Alabama. 

The  lowest  rocks  of  the  Archaean  group,  which  I have 
seen  along  the  line  of  survey,  are  represented  by  several 
belts  of  granites,  or  granitoid  gneisses.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  granite  and  the  gneiss  is  that  the  latter  has  an  in- 
ternal bedded  structure,  whilst  the  granite  has  not,  or  only 
a slight  foliation,  in  which  case  it  becomes  a granitoid  gneiss. 
Both  rocks  are  made  up  of  quartz,  feldspar  (composed  of 
the  elements  of  clay  and  of  potash),  and  mica  (composed  of 
the  elements  of  clay  with  iron  and  potash  or  magnesia).  In 
many  cases  the  mica  of  the  granite  or  gneiss  is  wholy  or  in 
part  replaced  by  hornblende  (composed  of  silica,  magnesia, 
lime  and  iron  with  alumina),  in  which  case  the  rock  is  called 
hornblendic  granite,  and  is  usually  of  a somewhat  dark 
color,  and  when  decayed  becomes  red. 

The  belts  of  granite  crossed  have  the  form  of  rounded 
knobs  or  hummocks,  or  chains  of  hummocks,  rising  through 
disturbed  beds  of  gneisses,  which  are  deeply  decayed. 
Many  of  these  knobs  are  of  value  in  that  they  form  good 
building  stones,  which  is  not  the  case  with  the  overlying 
gneisses,  as  these  last  are  too  rotten  for  use.  There,  are 


8 


several  belts  of  granite  in  Georgia,  but  the  most  western 
is  just  beyond  the  Tallapoosa  River,  near  Louina.  Under 
the  head  Granites  for  building  purposes,  the  localities  will 
be  designated.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  say  that  these  granite 
knobs  probably  constitute  the  lower  part  of  the  Laurentain 
system. 

Overlying  the  rocky  backbones  of  the  continent,  which 
are  only  here  and  there  exposed  in  the  granites,  there  are 
other  rocks  which  are  of  a highly  crystalline  texture.  These 
consists  mainly  of  gneisses  and  mica  schists.  This  last  rock 
differs  from  the  gneiss  in  that  the  mica  largely  predomin- 
ates, producing  a foliated  irregular  texture  with  the  omis- 
sion of  the  feldspar,  which  gives  the  former  rock  a distinc- 
tive character.  Many  of  the  gneisses  are  hornblendic  and 
thus  in  weathering  give  red  soils.  The  beds  of  these  rocks 
generally  dip  to  the  south-east,  at  angles  occasionally  quite 
low  to  the  horizon,  but  in  some  places  they  are  found  rest- 
ing upon  their  edges  in  vertical  positions.  Again,  they  are 
often  folded,  bent,  and  even  overthrown,  showing  the  tre- 
mendeous  strains  and  pressures  they  have  been  subjected 
to.  These  are  the  rocks  which  everywhere  overlie  the  gran- 
ite masses  which  here  and  there  peep  up  through  them.  The 
rocks  are  everywhere  deeply  decayed  and  from  them  the 
surface  soils  are  derived. 

Occasional  masses  of  iron  are  found,  and  gold  has  been 
reported;  the  soil  often  contains  iron-sand  derived  from  their 
decay,  still  these  rocks  are  of  little  mineral  value.  Geolo- 
gically, they  may  be  considered  as  the  representative  of  an 
upper  part  of  the  Laurentain  system. 

The  physical  features  into  which  these  last  rocks  weather 
is  a succession  of  low  hills  and  valleys,  all  with  a very  much 
rounded  outline,  and  no  bold  points.  Where  the  rocks  are 
hornblendic,  the  decay  seems  to  have  gone  deeper,  and 
there  we  find  that  the  streams  are  liable  to  cut  the  land  into 


9 


deep  gulleys-.  In  this  country  there  are  many  valuable 
shoals  and  water-powers. 

Beyond  the  formation  just  described,  as  in  Clay 
County,  the  character  of  the  rocks  changes.  There, the  rocks 
are  of  much  less  crystalline  texture,  and  consists  of  dull 
fissile  layers  or  slates  which  belong  to  what  are  called  hydro- 
mica  and  chlorite  schists.  Whether  elevated  or  low,  these 
rocks  form  a Hatter  surface  than  the  Laurentian  rocks.  But 
rising  above  these  slates,  there  are  numerous  narrow  ridges, 
having:  sometimes  a height  of  300  or  350  feet.  Whilst  some 
of  them  are  composed  of  hydromica  or  other  schists,  other 
ridges  are  made  up  of  graphitic  gneisses — that  is  gneisses 
in  which  the  mica  is  replaced  by  graphite  or  plumbago,  in 
the  form  of  scales.  The  ridges  may  also  contain  iron  ores, 
copper,  pyrites  or  sulphide  of  iron,  and  workable  deposites 
of  gold.  The  slates  are  sometimes  fine  enough  to  be  worked 
for  domestic  purposes. 

The  rocks  dip  at  angles  from  almost  horizontal  to  angles 
approaching  the  vertical,  The  direction  of  the  dip  varies 
from  north  of  east  to  nearly  south.  The  physical  features  are 
boulder  than  in  the  Laurentian  country.  The  narrow  ridges 
often  extend  many  miles,  in  a north-east  and  south-west 
direction  broken  only  here  and  there  by  an  occasional  stream. 
Their  surfaces  are  decayed,  and  are  often  covered  with  the 
iron  ore  or  with  quartz  blocks, derived  from  the  veins  of  these 
materials,  upon  the  decay  of  the  rock  masses  themselves. 
Some  of  these  ridges  belong  to  the  Huronian  system. 

In  passing  over  the  various  rocks  of  the  Archaean  group, 
the  general  altitude  of  the  country  rises  from  about  500  feet 
on  the  hills  about  Macon,  to  from  S00  to  1,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  throughout  a considerable  portion  of  the  belt.  How- 
ever, there  are  ridges  considerable  higher,  whilst  the  alti- 
tude diminishes  to  somewhat ‘below  600  feet  in  crossing  the 
Chattahoochee  and  Tallapoosa  Rivers,  the  most  important 


10 


waters  flowing  through  the  belt. 

THE  CAMBRIAN  SYSTEM. 

In  this  geological  system  there  are  included  three  great 
series  of  rock  formations — in  descending  order;  Calciferous 
or  Knox.  Potsdam,  and  Acadian  or  Ocoee. 

THE  ACADIAN  OR  OCOEE  SERIES. 

On  approaching  the  eastern  side  of  Talladega  County, 
along  the  line  of  the  survey,  the  highest  hills  in  this  part 
of  Alabama  are  encountered.  These  hills  form  the  Blue 
Mountains,  rising  600  or  TOO  feet  above  the  country  and 
1,600  feet  above  the  sea.  It  is  through  Porter’s  Gap  (Sec. 
4;  T.  30;  R.  VI  E.),  in  this  ridge,  which  trends  northeast- 
ward that  the  survey  is  made,  crossing  it  at  a little  over  nine 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  This  ridge  forms  the  south- 
east portion  of  a belt  of  country  of  six  or  seven  miles  in 
width,  consisting  of  hydromica  schists,  in  the  main,  together 
with  a conglomerate  made  up  of  pebbles  of  quartz  cemented 
together.  This  belt  extends  to  the  south-eastern  side  of  the 
valley  of  Talladega,  and  the  rocks  are  well  exposed  along 
Talladega  creek,  which  emerges  into  the  valley  at  Craig- 
dale  or  Taylor’s  Mills.  The  slates  are  often  of  a dull  ap- 
pearance, but  again,  where  moderately  exposed  to  the  weath- 
er, they  have  a shining,  greenish  or  greyish  lustre,  with  a 
greasy  feel.  The  beds  of  this  series  dip  towards  the  south- 
east, at  angles  from  of  20°  to  30°  in  the  region  of  Porter’s 
Gap,  but  at  only  from  7°  to  10°  at  Craigdale,  consequently 
these  newer  semi-metamoapliic  rocks^  appear  to  pass  under 
the  older  Huronian  series  to  the  southeastward.  This  in- 
verted order  is  appearant  and  not  real,  for  in  the  movement 
which  made  the  mountains  there  were  some  overthrows  and 
gigantic  slippings  of  the  earth’s  crust  which  overturned 
some  of  the  older  strata  and  brought  together  rocks  of  very 
different  ages.  The  group  of  rocks  just  described  has 
been  classed  by  Prof.  E.  A.  Smith,  State  Geologist  of  Ala- 


11 


bama,  as  being  the  Alabama  equivalent  of  the  Ocoee  (and 
possibly  of  the  Acadian)  series  of  Geology,  although  in  a 
semi-metamorphic  condition.  The  ridges  composed  of  these 
slates  are  usually  covered  with  scant}'  soil,  as  they  do  not 
decompose  into  deep  earth.  In  the  region  of  the  conglom- 
erate beds,  the  surfaces  are  covered  with  quartz  fragments 
or  blocks. 

Whilst  these  slates  usually  break  with  an  uneven  surface, 
upon  their  north-western  flank  there  are  several  layers  which 
break  with  a smooth  surface  into  thin  plates,  fit  for  roofing 
and  other  purposes.  Upon  the  north-western  edge  of  this 
bed  of  Acadian  rocks  there  is  also  a very  large  develop- 
ment of  white  and  blue  marbles.  These  underlie  hydrom- 
ica slates;  but  they  were  probably  brought  beneath  older 
rocks  by  a geological  overthrow,  (see  beyond).  A portion 
of  this  zone  of  hydromica  slates  is  traversed  with  quartz 
veins,  which  are  gold  bearing,  as  well  as  some  of  the  adja- 
cent, slate  rock.  Upon  the  southeastern  flank  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  facing  the  Huronian  country,  there  is  a heavy  bed  of 
brown  iron  ore.  This  bed,  trending  from  the  northeast  to 
the  southwest,  passes  close  to  Porter’s  Gap.  As  already  in- 
dicated the  belt  of  rocks  belonging  to  the  Acadian  series  is 
one  of  considerable  mineral  wealth.  Each  mineral  will  be 
considered  in  its  proper  place. 

POTSDAM  SERIES. 

This  is  the  next  great  series  in  the  geological  scale,  but 
the  rocks  belonging  to  it  do  not  appear  in  contact  with  those 
of  the  Acadian  group  on  the  southeastern  side  of  the  valley 
of  Talladega,  but  occur  upon  the  northwestern  side  of  the 
valley,  six  or  seven  miles  distant.  They  form  a chain  of 
mountains,  rising  to  about  1,000  feet  above  the  valley  or  1,600 
feet  above  the  sea.  Through  this  interrupted  chain,  at  Ren- 
froe  Gap,  the  railway  survey  passes.  The  backbone  of  this 
narrow  ridge  is  made  up  of  sandstone,  dipping  at  high  an- 


12 


gles  to  the  southeast.  It  is  flanked  by  the  formatians  of 
the  next,  or  Knox  series,  which  underlie  the  more  level  coun- 
try on  both  sides.  I pon  the  flanks  of  the  hills  on  both  sides 
of  the  chain  there  are  deposits  of  brown  iron  ore. 

THE  KNOX  OR  CALCIFEROUS  SERIES. 

Geologically,  this  series  is  divided  into  three  formations, 
in  ascending  order;  sandstones,  shales  and  dolomites: 
From  the  mineral  stand  point,  this  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant formations  crossed  by  th‘e  survey,  as  it  contains  the 
wonderfully  rich  and  commonly  pure  brown  iron  ores.  These 
rocks  are  named  the  Knox  series  in  Tennessee,  which  local- 
ity is  a part  of  the  great  series  of  geology,  known  as  the 
Calciferous,  whose  position  is  somewhat  that  of  passage  beds 
between  the  Cambrian  and  Silurian  systems. 

Along  the  line  of  survey  the  sandstones  form  no  impor- 
tant. feature.  The  shales  constitute  the  floor  on  the  north- 
western side  of  the  Talladega  valley.  But  the  dolomite  for- 
mation, with  its  surface  decomposed,  forms  the  floor  of  a 
great  part  of  the  valley,  and  also  the  surface  of  the  hilly 
country,  extending  to  the  Carboniferous  ridges  half  a dozen 
miles  beyond  the  Coosa  River.  Indeed,  owing  to  some  re- 
markable faultings,  the  survey  crosses  another  strip  of  the 
Calciferous  series,  between  the  Coosa  and  the  Cahaba  coal 
fields,  in  the  valley  of  the  Little  Cahaba  River,  at  Leeds. 

The  Knox  dolomite  formation  is  composed  commonly  of 
bluish  compact  magnesian  limestone  with  some  shales. 
Certain  portions  of  this  limestone  is  filled  with  great  quan- 
tities of  irregular  nodules  of  chert  or  flint.  This  chert  was 
originally  in  the  form  of  sand  or  silica,  enclosed  in  the 
limestone  mud,  long  ago,  before  it  was  hardened  into  rock. 
Limestones  usually  contain  as  impurities  a little  clay  and 
sand  other  than  that  in  the  form  of  concretions  or  nodules. 
In  addition,  some  of  the  beds  of  the  limestones  of  the  Knox 
series,  in  Alabama,  and  elsewhere,  were  richly  charged  with 


13 


iron  ores.  During  the  long  ages  that  the  rocks  of  the  Knox 
series  have  heen  exposed  to  the  weather,  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere,  the  rains,  and  the  rivers 
have  washed  out  much  of  the  lime, 
leaving  irregular  beds  of  brown  iron 
ore-now  of  great  value-an  earthy  soil 
derived  from  the  sand  and  clay  im- 
purities with  more  or  less  iron,  and 
great  sheets  of  chert  nodules,  loosely 
deposited  on  some  of  the  hills,  as  these 
stones  are  scarcely  affected  by  the 
weather.  This  weathering  may  ex- 
tend to  a depth  of  sixty  or  eighty  feet 
o more.  Thus  we  see  what  is  now  a 
great  deposit  of  loose,  earthy  soil,  was 
once  a more  or  less  impure  limestone, 
g The  country  underlaid  by  this  series 
3 of  rocks  is  characterized  by  a succes- 
usually  less  than  200 
with  intervening  valleys. 

Whilst  the  valleys  are  fertile,  the 
ridges  are  often  densely  covered  with 
the  loose  chert,  and  are  only  cultivat- 
ed to  a limited  extent.  Still  the  chert 
is  usually  superficial,  although  it 
may  form  a dense  cap.  The  beds  of 
this  series  all  dip  to  the  southeast,  to 
the  extent  of  sometimes  20°  or  more, 
and  as  the  belt  of  country  is  wide,  the 
thickness  of  the  formation  might  be 
supposed  to  be  very  great,  but  the 
whole  region  is  faulted,  thus  the 
same  beds  are  repeated  to  form  a se- 
ries of  parallel  ridges,  like  the  teeth  of  a saw.  separated  by 


<sion  of  ridges 
feet  high, 


14 


valleys,  as  in  the  accompanying  diagram. 

One  of  these  faults,  at  Henryellen  Coal  mines,  brings  the 
Knox  dolomite  and  Coal  Measures  sharpely  side  by  side, 
and  represents  a direct  slipping  of  the  earth’s  crust  of  9,000 
feet.  The  faults  are  of  great  importance  in  geological  ex- 
aminations. Whilst  they  may  bring  to  view  valuable  beds, 
yet  they  so  dislocate  seams  or  veins  as  to  often  render 
their  following  difficult  or  impossible. 

The  Knox  limestones  are  valuable  for  building  purposes 
and  for  lime.  There  are  also  some  seams  of  Barite  or  Heavy 
Spar  south  of  Leeds. 

THE  CAMBRO-SILITRUN  SYSTEM. 

TRENTON  SERIES. 

Whilst  the  Cambro-Silurian  system  is  represented  else- 
where by  a great  developement  of  rocks,  which  have  been 
grouped  in  different  series,  only  the  Trenton  is  represented 
along  the  survey.  This  is  a limestone,  containing  fossil  shells 
etc.,  which  has  been  brought  to  view,  at  the  base  of  Bed 
Mountain,  six  miles  east  of  Birmingham.  Here  is  found  a 
thickness  of  700  feet  or  more  of  limestone  of  a high  degree 
of  purity,  from  which  a large  part  of  the  limestone  used  in 
the  iron  furnaces  of  the  district  is  supplied.  As  surface  de- 
posits, these  limestone  form  only  a narrow  Belt,  being  gen- 
erally covered  by  rocks  of  the  succeeding  system.  They 
would  not  have  been  brought  to  the  surface,  and  made  avail- 
able for  use,  had  it  not  been  for  faulting  and  folding  of  the 
earth’s  crust,  in  this  region. 

SILURIAN  SYSTEM. 

CLINTON  SERIES 

Like  the  preceding  system,  the  Silurian  rock  are  repres- 
ented by  only  a few  score  of  feet,  these  belonging  to  the 
Clinton  series.  But  this  thin  layer  contains  the  hematite 


15 


or  reel  fossil  ore,  of  Keel  Mountain.  The  Clinton  series  is 
composed  of  alternate  beds  of  shales  and  sandstone,  some 
of  which  are  highly  ferruginous.  Amongst  these  rocks  there 
are  several  beds  of  the  so  calleel  "fossil  ore."  This  consists 
of  beds  of  what  were  once  limestones  made  of  masses  of 
broken  shells.  This  stone  was  more  or  less  porous,  and  from  it 
the  lime  has  been  dissolved  away,  to  a greater  or  less  ex- 
tent, and  its  place  taken  by  iron.  Its  characteristics  will  be 
described  under  the  head  of  Iron  Ores.  But  it  may  here  be 
said  that  this  ridge  is  the  greatest  source  of  mineral  wealth 
of  the  South.  The  deposit  extends  not  merely  across  a 
portion  of  Alabama,  but  into  Tennessee  and  thence  north- 
ward, even  to  Canada,  and  is  perhaps  the  most  constant  of 
any  one  geological  belt  in  eastern  America.  However,  it 
is  not  everywhere  sufficiently  rich  in  iron  to  be  profitably 
worked  for  the  metal.  Indeed,  the  cheapness  of  the  iron  de- 
rived from  tlris“fossil  ore’ 'depends  largely  upon  its  proximity 
to  coal  and  limestone.  Owing  to  folding,  faulting  and  break- 
ing of  the  earth’s  crust,  this  thin  deposit  of  the  Clinton  se- 
ries is  brought  to  view,  resting  somewhat  upon  its  edge,  in 
several  belts,  in  Alabama,  but  only  the  principal  one,  at  Red 
Gap,  approaching  tire  Railway  line. 

In  the  Clinton*  series,  beneath  the  ore  beds,  there  are 
very  fine  red  sandstones,  from  which  beautiful  building 
stones  can  be  obtained. 

DEVONIAN  SYSTEM. 

Whilst  a portion  of  the  Birmingham  valley  is  excavated 
out  of  a thin  deposit  of  shales  belonging  to  the  Devonian 
system,  yet  these  rocks  are  of  no  importance  from  the  eco- 
nomic standpoint. 

CARBONIFEROUS  SYSTEM. 

From  a point  about  six  miles  west  of  the  Coosa  River, 


16 


the  line  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  crosses  a 
belt  of  twenty  miles  or  more  belonging  to  the  Carbonife- 
rous system  (including  the  break  in  it  along  the  Little  Ca- 
haba  River,  occupied  by  the  Knox  dolomite).  The 
system  is  divided  into  two  great  series — the  Lower  or  Sub- 
Carboniferous  and  the  Coal  Measures. 

The  physical  features  along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and 
Birmingham  Railway  are  nowhere  so  rough  as  through  the 
country  composed  of  the  rocks  of  the  Carboniferous  system, 
especially  upon  the  western  sides  of  the  Coosa  and  Cahaba 
coal  basins.  The  highest  of  these  ridges  rise  to  300  or  100 
feet  above  the  valleys.  This  ruggedness  is  readily  under- 
stood, for  the  rocks  are  all  dipping  to  the  southeast,  at  an- 
gles from  a few  to  from  12°  to  20°  or  more,  and  along  the 
western  margin  of  the  Coosa  coal  basin,  just  east  of  Leeds, 
the  dip  is  over  30°.  Here  the  rocks  capping  the  ridges  are 
very  durable  sandstones  or  conglomerates  of  the  Mill  Stone 
Grit.  These  rocks,  either  in  the  form  of  sheets,  or 
as  great  massive  blocks,  defend  the  ridges  from  the  reduc- 
ing action  of  the  weather. 

LOWER  OR  STTB-CARBOXIFEROUS  SERIES. 

This  series  is  characterized  by  a great  accumulation  of 
limestones.  But  besides  these  rocks  there  are  also  beds  of 
sandstone  and  shale,  and  in  some  regions,  unimportant  beds 
of  coal.  In  Alabama,  there  is  a great  development  of  rocks 
belonging  to  the  Lower  Carboniferous  series;  reaching  to  a 
thickness  of  2,100  feet,  according  to  the  measurements  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Squires,  or  the  Geological  Survey. 

Owing  to  some  of  the  beds  of  limestone  containing  chert, 
the  effect  of  the  weathering  upon  ridges  composed  of  such 
rocks,  is  to  leave  an  earthy  soil  covered  with  a thick  layer 
of  unconsolidated  cherty  gravel.  The  Lower  Carbonife- 
rous formation  does  not  form  a broad  surface  feature,  as  it  is 


17 


exposed  in  the  form  of  narrow  zones  around  the  margins  of 
the  Coal  Measures.  It  is  most  extensively  developed  along 
the  northwestern  margins  of  the  Coosa  (just  east  of  Leeds) 
and  Cahaba  (east  of  Red  Mountain)  coal  fields.  East  of 
Red  Mountain  there  is  an  extensive  ridge  of  white  sand- 
stone, some  of  which  is  friable,  and  easily  crushed  into  the 
finest  sand  for  glass-making  or  other  purposes.  Just  beyond 
this  ridge,  but  on  the  southeastern  flank  of  Red  Mountain, 
there  is  a very  extensive  deposit  of  chert,  the  residue  from 
the  decay  of  eherty  limestones  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous 
system.  This  is  in  the  form  of  rough,  hard  gravel,  which 
is  extensively  used  to  macadamize  the  streets  of  Birming- 
ham. In  some  places,  the  limestones  are  suflieiently  un- 
covered te  be  quarried,  but  not  along  the  line  of  the  survey. 
Besides  the  enumerated  economic  uses  of  the  Lower  Car- 
boniferous rocks,  there  are  extensive  beds  of  brown  iron 
ore,  be-neath  some  of  the  eherty  deposits. 

UPPER  CARBONIFEROUS  SERIES, 

The  lower  portion  of  this  formation  is  composed  of  sand 
stones  and  conglomerates,  the  latter  being  made  up  of  small 
pebbles  and  grains  of  quartz  cemented  into  a very  hard 
rock.  Along  with  these  rocks,  there  are  beds  of  shale,  and 
near  the  top,  some  thin  seams  of  coal.  This  lower  portion 
of  the  Coal  Measures  series  is  known  as  the  Millstone 
Grit.  In  Alabama  it  has  been  found  to  be  1,700  feet 
thick.  The  best  exposure  of  these  rocks  is  on  Oak  Mountain 
(just  east  of  Leeds)  along  the  western  margin  of  the  Coosa 
coal  basin.  The  beds  dip  to  the  southeast  from  30°  to  35°. 
Some  of  the  beds  of  the  sandstone  are  thin  and  break  into 
the  finest  paving  stones,  and  slabs  for  hearths  and  furnaces. 

COAL  MEASURES  PROPER. 

In  Alabama  there  are  three  coal  basins — the  Coosa,  the 
Cahaba  (both  crossed  by  the  Railway  survey)  and  the  War- 


18 


rior  (beginning  just  beyond  Birmingham,  where  the  Rail- 
way terminates).  The  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  crossed, 
are  shales  and  sandstones,  together  with  the  occasional  seams 
of  coal.  The  total  thickness  of  the  Cahaba  Coal  basin, 
above  the  Millstone  Grit,  has  been  measured  by  Mr.  Jo- 
seph Squires  and  found  to  be  3,800  feet.  Through  this 
mass  of  rock,  distributed  at  irregular  intervals,  there  are 
over  thirty  coal  seams,  above  one  foot  in  thickness  (or 
about  forty,  including  those  in  the  Millstone  Grit  (Squires) 
with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  92  feet  of  coal.)  But  of  all 
these  beds  of  coal,  along  the  line  wheie  the  survey  crosses 
the  Cahaba  Coal  fields,  from  Uenryellen  for  five  or  six  miles 
westward,  there  are  only  eight  or  ten  seams  having  a thick- 
ness of  two  feet  or  more — the  maximum  being  eleven  feet. 
The  more  eastern  of  the  workable  beds  of  coal  dip  at  about 
25°  to  southeast,  but  in  crossing  westward  the  rocks  flatten 
out,  favoring  the  mining  of  the  coal.  Some  of  the  Cahaba 
coal  is  amongst  the  best  in  the  South.  The  coal  mining 
will  be  described  later. 

Returning  eastward  a few  miles  to  the  Coosa  coal  fields, 
which  have  a direct  width  of  seven  or  eight  miles  in  the  re- 
gions of  the  survey,  there  are  no  beds  seen  along  the  line  of 
tire  Railway  thicker  than  two  feet  four  inches,  although  farth- 
er north  there  is  one  four  feet  thick.  Besides  the 
smaller  amount  of  coal  in  this  field,  than  in  the  Cahaba,  the 
beds  are  more  interrupted  and  broken  by  the  rocks  being 
faulted.  Whilst  the  Railway  will  carry  coal  and  other 
freight  from  beyond  Birmingham,  vet  it  is  not  the  prov- 
ince of  this  report  to  give  an  account  of  the  general  geolo- 
gy, beyond  the  limits  of  the  road  itself,  but  attention  will 
be  given  to  the  whole  coal  question  in  its  proper  place. 

The  periods  of  the  great  geological  changes,  which  have 
mostlaagely  brought  to  view  the  mineral  wealth  along  the 
line  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  were,  first,  at  the 


close  of  the  Archaean  era,  and  subsequently  after  the  muds 
and  coal  deposits  of  the  Carboniferous  system  were  laid 
down,  beneath  the  seas  of  the  Palaeozoic  era.  At  the  close 
of  this  last  era  the  earth’s  crust  was  folded,  twisted,  over- 
turned, bringing  to  view  the  mineral  wealth,  in  the  form 
of  coal,  iron,  etc.  For  all,  or  most,  of  the  time  that  has 
elapsed  since  the  general  upheaval  of  the  land  above  the 
sea,  the  rocks  have  been  subjected  to  the  reducing  action 
of  the  weather,  and  streams,  which  have  worn  away  a great 
portion  of  the  original  hills,  and  carried  the  mud  into  the 
seas,  left  the  rocks  decayed  often  to  great  depths,  obscuring 
the  underlying  beds,  and  rendering  the  study  of  the  geolo- 
gy more  difficult,  but  at  the  same  time  leaving  few  places 
without  some  surface  soil  that  can  be  cultivated. 

MESOZOIC  GROUP. 

Of  this  group  only  a small  belt  of  the  Lower  Cretaceous 
clays  and  sands  are  seen  adjacent  to  Macon  and  westward, 
between  decayed  Archaean  rocks  and  overlying  drift  de- 
posits. Some  of  the  sands  could  be  used  for  building  pur- 
poses, and  the  clay  for  bricks  or  coarse  potteiy. 

CEMOZOIC  GROUP. 

Of  this  group,  only  the  Pleistocene  or  Southern  Drift, 
and  the  modern  river  alluvium  are  represented.  The 
Pleistocene  series  is  represented  on  the  hills  about  Macon 
and  for  a few  miles  westward,  by  occasional  beds  of  rounded 
water  worn  gravel,  varying  from  perhaps  one  to  ten  feet  in 
thickness.  This  is  commonly  overlaid  by  a reddish  or  other 
colored  sandy  loam  of  only  a few  feet  in  thickness.  Some- 
times the  gravel  is  wanting,  and  then  the  loam  rests  upon 
the  underlying  Archaean  or  Cretaceous  rocks.  These  de- 
posits are  also  met  with  on  the  hills  high  above  the  Chatta- 
hoochee, Tallapoosa,  Talladega  and  Coosa  Rivers,  This 
Southern  drift  has  not  been  seen  at  altitudes  more  than  700 


feet  above  the  sea.  When  not  too  deeply  covered  with 
loam,  these  gravels  are  of  value  for  road  making  andballast 
purposes. 

Alluvial  clays  occur  along  some  of  the  rivers,  occupyin 
the  position  of  first  or  second  bottoms.  In  many  cast 
these  clays  are  suitable  for  brick -making. 


w ac 


21 


II — MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

A— IRON  ORES. 

OCCURRENCE.  QUANTITY,  QUALITY. 

The  recent  great  development  of  the  mineral  wealth  of 
Alabama,  Tennesse  and  Georgia  has  been  primarily  due  to 
the  great  deposits  of  iron;  but  these  would  not  have  been 
available  had  not  there  been  sufficient  good  coal  in  proxim- 
ity, wherewith  to  turn  the  ores  into  the  metal.  As  the  Macon 
and  Birmingham  Railway  will  be  the  shortest  road  to  the 
sea,  and  as  it  will  pass  through  the  iron  and  coal  belts  or  touch 
them,  it  will  not  only  assist  in  opening  these  resources  still 
further,  but  will  make  more  accessible  to  the  markets 
the  products  of  most  of  the  furnaces  in  Alabama.  At  the 
same  time,  the  iron  products  must  of  necessity  supply  to  the 
Railway  an  enormous  revenue  arising  from  the  heavy  trans- 
portation, 

IRON  ORES. 

The  ordinary  ores  of  iron  are: — magnetite,  hematite,  lim- 
onite,  and  siderite,  in  one  or  other  of  the  various  forms.  Py- 
rites is  used  as  a source  of  sulphur  and  not  as  one  of  iron. 

Magnetite — This  mineral  is  usually  compact  or  coarse  crys- 
talline, hard,  and  of  black  color.  The  powder,  when  pure, 
is  also  black.  It  it  attracted  by  a magnet,  or  affects  the 
needle  of  a compass.  When  pure  it  contains  72.4  per  cent, 
of  iron.  This  is  the  richest  ore  of  iron,  but  it  often  con- 
tains too  much  of  one  or  other  impurity  to  permit  of  its  use. 
It  is  only  found  in  the  metamorphic  rocks,  and  consequent- 
ly need  not  be  looked  for  westward  of  the  Blue  Mountains 
of  Alabama.  Adjacent  to  the  survey,  there  are  several 
places  in  Clay  and  neighboring  counties,  where  magnetite  is 
found.  In  small  quantities,  it  is  found  on  the  property  of 
Mr.  Monroe,  near  Ilillabee  post  office.  On  Mr.  Knowles’ 
farm  (sec.  15,  T.  20,  R.  VII  E.)  there  is  a bed  of  magnetite 


22 


but  it  is  too  rich  in  silica  to  be  of  use.  ^Magnetite  in  the 
Birmingham  district  would  be  of  particular  value  for  pud- 
dling processes,  in  the  manufacture  of  bar  iron,  but  abund- 
ance of  the  silica  in  the  ore  would  prevent  its  use.  South- 
west of  Ilillabee,  there  are  several  ranges  of  hills  which 
contain  so  much  magnetite  that  it  interferes  with  the  com- 
pass needle  in  making  surveys.  By  the  use  of  the  needle, 
many  of  the  valuable  mines  of  blew  Jersey  and  Pennsylva- 
nia have  been  discovered,  and  so  some  of  these  Clay  County 
deposits  of  magnetite  may  be  found  to  be  of  value.  On  Mr. 
Cox’s  farm  (Sec.  16,  T.  20,  R.  YII  E.)  there  is  a thick  bed  of 
ore,  consisting  of  hematite,  with  some  limonite,  and  seams 
of  magnetite.  This  remarkable  mixture,  where  opened  up, 
shows  a series  of  beds  six  or  eight  feet  thick  overlying 
graphitic  gneisses.  Only  a small  proportion  is  magnetic, 
but  the  average  of  the  whole  is  rich  in  silica,  as  shown  by  a 
partial  analysis  made  by  Prof.  C.  M.  Strahn,  for  the  sur- 
vey. .Metalic  Iron  4-4-94:  per  cent;  Silica, 31. 60  per  cent;  Phos- 
phorous, 0.  1953  per  cent. 

There  are  other  various  localities  where  magnetite  has 
been  found- 

IIematite. — When  crvstalized,  hematite  is  of  a black  col- 
or, and  often  shining.  I have  seen  scales  of  such  ore  in 
Alabama,  but  it  is  not  in  this  form  that  it  occurs  so  abund- 
antly. When  pure  it  contains  TO  percent,  of  iron.  The 
common  form,  in  which  the  great  beds  of  hematite  occur,  is 
that  of  an  earthy-looking  bright  red  rock.  This  is  the  ‘wed 
ore.”  The  structure  is  generally  that  of  a mass  of  broken 
shells  cemented  together.  In  reality,  the  red  ore  was  once 
a mass  of  limestone  made  up  of  broken  shells,  and  more  or 
less  porous.  Waters  percolating  this  porous  rock  have  dis- 
solved away  the  limestone  and  deposited  the  iron  in  its 
place.  As  will  be  seen  by  analysis  all  of  this  red  ore,  in 


Alabama,  contains  a large  quantity  of  siliea.  Nearer  the 
surface,  it  is  somewhat  porous,  and  contains  but  little  lime. 
However,  in  descending  into  the  beds  beneath  atmospheric 
action,  the  ore  becomes  more  compact  and  rich  in  limestone. 
Such  is  the  general  character  of  the  ore  which  makes  the 
wealth  of  the  Birmingham  district,  that  will  be  described  in 
detail. 

Limonite  or  Brown  Hematite — When  pure,  limonite  oc- 
curs in  nodular  or  stalactitic  masses,  with  internally  a fiber- 
ous  structure.  Its  color  may  be  black,  brown,  or  ochre  yel- 
low. In  composition,  it  differs  from  hematite  in  that  it 
contains  water.  Pure  limonite  contains  sixty  per  cent  of 
metallic  iron.  By  exposure  to  the  air,  limonite  looses  part 
or  all  of  its  water  and  becomes  red  or  black,  passing  into 
the  condition  of  hematite,  and  yielding  a larger  per  centage 
of  iron.  This  purer  condition  of  limonite  is  the  exception, 
for  it  is  more  commonly  found  commingled  with  clay, 
through  which  it  is  scattered,  sometimes  in  large  masses, 
but  more  frequently  as  small  particles  or  lumps.  The  brown 
ores  are  by  far  the  most  widely  diffused  iron  deposits  of  Al- 
abama. Some  of  the  brown  ores  are  of  great  purity,  being 
of  higher  quality  than  the  red  ores;  but  the  extent  of  the 
deposits  are  somewhat  more  uncertain.  The  brown  ores 
sometimes  occur  in  beds,  but  oftener  still  in  somewhat  ir- 
regular pockets. 

Siderite  is  the  carbonate  of  iron.  Although  the  limonite 
and  red  hematite  were  originally  in  the  condition  of  sider- 
ite, and  certain  thin  seams  associated  with  the  coal,  in  the 
form  of  “clay  iron  stone”  and  “black  band  ore,”  are  siderite, 
yet  along  the  line  of  the  survey,  this  mineral  does  not 
form  a source  of  ore  for  iron  manufacture. 

THE  BED  HEMATITE  OF  THE  BIRMINGHAM  DISTRICT, 

Birmingham  owes  its  existence  to  the  belt  of  red  hema- 
tite, which  passes  near  it.  This  has  been  cjfcscribed  in  a gen- 


2 4 


era!  way  under  the  geology  of  the  Clinton  series.  Let  ns 
now  examine  the  iron  from  an  economic  standpoint.  In 
this  district,  the  workable  ore  is  confined  to  Red  Mountain. 
This  ridge  trends  from  about  forty  miles  southwest  of 
Birmingham  northeastward,  passing  that  city  about  six  miles 
to  the  east,  at  Gate  City.  Thence,  the  iron  bearing  moun- 
tains extends  for  about  twenty-five  miles  farther,  when  it 
swings  around  the  northern  end  of  the  Cahaba  coal  field, 
in  the  region  of  Springville.  This  may  be  considered  as  the 
extent  of  the  Birmingham  district.  In  the  vicinity  of  Spring- 
ville, all  the  rocks  are  broken  and  involved  in  folds,  faults, 
and  anticlinals,  which  bring  up  the  ore  beds, in  several  ridges. 
The  natural  outlet  of  the  ore  southwest  of  Birmingham,  or 
of  the  iron  derived  therefrom,  is  to.  or  by  way  of,  Birming- 
ham. The  furnaces  of  the  district  could  also  economically 
draw  ore  supplies  from  beyond  the  more  nortliernly 
twenty-five  miles.  Of  this  long  belt,  the  Macon  and 
Birmingham  Railway  is  the  shortest  outlet  for  the  iron  car- 
ried to  eastern  Georgia,  and  to  the  whole  North,  by  way  of 
the  sea.  So  much  can  be  said  for  the  distribution  and 
length  of  the  ore  deposits.  The  width  of  the  available  ore 
is  more  limited.  The  ore  beds  rise  from  beneath  the  ridge 
and  valley  to  the  east  of  Red  Mountain,  and  generally  come 
to  an  outcrop  upon  its  surface.  This  varies  from  200  to  300 
feet  above  the  drainage  levels.  The  slope  or  rise  of  the  ore 
beds  at  the  Sloss  mines,  near  Red  Gap  is  from  12°  to  15°,  but 
elsewhere,  the  slope  is  less  in  some  places,  but  in  others  it 
is  much  steeper.  At  the  present  time,  the  workable  beds 
consist  of  those  deposits  in  the  mountain  above  the  nutural 
drainage  of  the  valley.  Mines  requiring  artificial  drainage 
could  not  compete  with  those  upon  the  mountain  side,  where 
not  even  hoisting  is  necessary.  Thus  the  width  of  the  avail- 
able ore  varies  from  1,000  to  1,500  feet.  In  some  localities, 
there  are  as  many  as  six  or  seven  different  ore  beds,  whilst 
again  they  are  reduced  to  three,  or,  sometimes,  to  only  one 


25 


workable  bed,  for  several  may  be  united.  As  to  thickness, 
even  the  same  bed  may  vary  greatly.  At  Red  Gap,  through 
which  the  Railway  is  to  pass,  there  are  three  workable  beds, 
the  lowest  averaging  four;  the  next,  thirty;  and  the  upper 
two  and  a half  feet;  all  of  which  are  locally  much  thicker. 
Where  this  condition  obtains,  the  lowest  is  that  commonly 
worked.  A few  miles  south  of  Birmingham,  where  the 
iron  ore  forms  the  surface  rock,  it  is  worked  to  a depth  of 
even  forty  feet,  in  an  open  quarry.  At  the  present  time, 
many  of  the  Companies  work  only  the  softer  and  richer  de- 
posits, yet  the  time  is  coming  when  all  the  beds  will  more 
or  less  be  used.  By  the  softer  ores  is  meant  the  beds  from 
which  the  limestone  has  been  washed  out,  thus  leaving  it 
porous  and  containing  a large  per  centage  of  the  metal.  As 
this  condition  extends  only  to  moderate  depth,  the  supply 
of  the  soft  ores  is  limited.  Indeed,  the  harder  ores  are  now 
being  largely  worked. 

Whilst  in  some  cases  the  ore  forms  the  surface  of  the 
mountain,  yet  it  is  commonly  covered  with  shales 
oi’  sandstones,  although  to  only  a moderate  depth.  Nu- 
merous transverse  ravines  cross  the  ore  beds,  and  often  cut 
through  them.  This  is  an  advantage,  as  it  renders  the 
mining  easier. 

From  what  has  been  written  it  will  be  readily  seen  that 
the  volume  of  red  ore  in  the  Birmingham  district  is  enor- 
mous,  not  considering  that  which  is  below  the  base  of  the 
mountain. 

As  to  quality,  the  ore  is  variable.  That  nearer  the 
surface  is  more  likely  to  be  richer  in  iron  and  silica  than 
than  at  a greater  depth,  which  is  richer  in  limestone,  often 
to  such  a degree  as  to  be  self- fluxing.  But  everywhere  the 
per  centage  of  silica  is  large,  thus  requiring  larger  quantities 
of  limestone  for  fluxing,  and  consequently  a great  expendi- 
ture for  fuel.  The  character  of  the  ore  is  better  seen  from 


26 


the  analyses.  Of  the  three  beds  belonging  to  Messrs.  Sloss 
at  Gate  City,  above  referred  to,  the  following  are  the  aver- 
erage  analyses,  furnished  by  Mr.  Fred  Sloss,  ir. 


1. 


II 


III 


55  per  cent. 
3 

15  “ 


Metalic  Iron  48  per  cent  40  per  cent 
Alumina  3 u 3 “ 

Silica  28  “ 42  “ 

Phosphorous  0.30  £‘  0.20  ‘‘  0.35  “ 

Ho  I is  analysis  of  lowest  beds.  Humber  II  is  that  of  the 
thick  but  poorer  bed.  Humber  III  is  the  analysis  of 
thinner  upper  bed,  which  on  descending  below  atmos- 
phric  action  decreases  in  iron  and  silica  with  a corres- 
ponding increase  in  lime.  Of  this,  Mr.  Sloss  gives  the  fol- 
lowing analysis  from  samples  below  atmospheric  action. 

Metalic  Iron  45  per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  Lime  30  per  cent. 

Silica  6 per  cent. 

Phosphorous  0.20  per  cent. 

About  six  miles  south  of  Birmingham,  the  Eureka  mines 
and  furnaces  are  situated  at  Oxmore.  Mr.  Mack,  the  gen- 
eral manager,  furnished  me  with  the  analyses  of  the  ores 
there  obtained.  The  beds  worked  are  from  twenty  to 
twenty-eight  feet  thick — the  upper  portion  not  being 
covered  with  superficial  rock.  The  upper  portions  of  the 
beds,  which  consist  of  soft  ore,  contain  from  49  to  52 
per  cent  of  metallic  iron;  18  to  23  per  cent  of  silica;  0.34 
to  0.40  par  cent  of  phosphorous.  In  the  lower  portion  of  the 
same  beds,  still  near  the  surface  of  the  mountain,  where  the 
ore  is  not  exposed  to  atmospheric  influences  to  a great  ex- 
tent, the  iron  further  decreases  to  from  30  to  40  per  cent, 
the  silica  is  also  decreased  to  from  12  to  IS  per  cent.;  the 
phosphorous  decreases  with  the  iron. 

The  average  per  centage  of  the  ores  which  go  into  the 
Birmingham  furnaces  does  not  exceed  40  uer  cent;  and 


27 

much  of  the  ore  used  falls  below  35  per  cent,  and  even  some 
ore  with  as  low  as  25  per  cent  of  iron  is  found  profitable. 
In  the  soft  ores,  the  average  amount  of  iron  is  50,  and  of 
silica  25  per  cent,  whilst  in  the  hard  ore  the  silica  is  reduc- 
ed to  16  per  cent.  (This  information  was  received  from 
Mr.  Alfred  F.  Brainard,  Analytical  Chemist  of  that  city.) 

As  to  the  value  of  the  ore  and  the  cost  of  mining,  they 
will  be  considered  later.  Whilst  some  of  the  furnaces  use 
red  ore  alone,  most  of  them  prefer  to  put  in  the  furnaces 
an  admixture  of  brown  ores  or  limonite.  These  last  are 
obtained  from  several  regions  southward,  and  also  north- 
eastward of  Birmingham,  but  they  are  more  costly.  The 
brown  ores  are  low  in  silica,  often  very  low  in  phosphorus, 
but  they  are  usually  somewhat  richer  in  iron  than  the  red 
ores.  Mr.  Brainard  informs  me  that  the  annual  yield  of 
those  furnaces’  where  the  ores  are  mixed  is  larger  than 
Avhere  only  the  red  ore  is  used.  This  question  will  be  re- 
ferred to  again,  but  it  is  here  mentioned  merely  to  show 
that  there  is  a great  demand  for  brown  ores,  which  the  im- 
mediate district  does  not  furnish,  but  which  the  route  of  the 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  crosses,  thus  at  once  open- 
ing a large  traffic  for  ores  to  Birmingham,  and  increasing 
the  importance  of  that  city  as  a centre  for  iron  production. 

BROWN  ORES  IN  THE  TALLADEGA  VALLEY  AND  ITS 
EXTENSIONS. 

Subordinate  only  to  the  Bed  Mountain  ores  are  the  brown 
ores,  or  limonite  of  the  Talladega  valley  and  its  extensions. 
The  general  valley  is  only  about  six  miles  wide,  but  this  is 
broken  up  into  a number  of  subordinate  valleys.  It  trends 
from  the  southwest,  (near  the  lower  end  of  which  are  the 
Shelby  Iron  Works)  northeastwards  towards  Tennessee, 
and  the  valley  of  Anniston  is  only  part  of  the  same  general 
depression.  As  seen  under  the  geological  sketch,  the  brown 
ores  of  the  valley  belong  to  the  Knox  series  of  rock  forma- 


28 


tions.  The  ores  are  derived  from  beds  of  limestone,  con- 
taining layers  of  the  iron  ore,  deposited,  however,  in  more 
or  less  irregular  forms  or  in  pockets.  Dnriug  the  longcontin- 
ed  decay  of  the  rocks,  the  limestone  has  been  washed  out 
leaving  the  iron  ores  associated  with  clay,  beneath  a cov- 
er of  red  clay  and  chert  (which  has  often  to  a depth  of  fifteen 
feet), also  the  remains  of  the  original  impure  limestone.  The 
atmospheric  erosion  has  also  washed  the  ridges  into  more  or 
less  irregular  hills.  It  is  in  these  ridges  or  hills,  rising  to 
sometimes  a hundred  feet  above  the  floor  of  the  valley,  or 
in  the  foot  hills  of  the  margin  that  the  ore  is  found.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  the  full  depth  of  the  ore  beds  has  not  been 
worked,  only  a little  surface  digging  having  been  carried  on. 
adjacent  to  the  line  of  our  survey.  Hovever,  at  Anniston, 
some  twenty-five  miles  northward,  the  great  pits  are  fifty 
or  sixty  feet  deep,  and  of  huge  dimensions.  One  of  these 
mines  is  shown  on  the  plate  opposite  this  page. 

The  masses  left  standing  in  the  picture  are  in  part,  pock- 
ets of  ore,  either  too  poor  to  work,  or  of  a white  clay,  pure 
enough  for  common,  if  not  for  fine  porcelain,  ware.  After 
passing  through  the  surface  loam  or  clay,  which  may  be 
only  a foot  or  two  thick,  or  ten  or  fifteen,  dirty  yellowish 
clay  containing  apparently,  to  the  superficial  observer,  oc- 
casional nodules  of  brown  ore,  and  here  and  there  large  mas- 
ses, is  met  with.  This  unpretentious  looking  mass  is  the 
ore  bed,  and  the  first  impressions  are  not  always  promising. 
But  throughout  this  clay  there  are  large  quantities  of  small 
lumps,  and  occasional  large  pockets  of  very  fine  ore.  This 
iron  bearing  ore  is  dug  up  and  passed  through  screens,  (the 
smallest  being  of  three-fourths  of  an  inch  mesh,)  thus  from 
a quarter  to  more  than  a half  of  the  whole  mass  sometimes 
proves  to  be  ore-  At  Talladega,  a man  is  able  to  handle  from 
four  to  five  tons  a day.  The  ore,  in  the  form  of  the  earthy 
looking  lumps,  will  average  over  fifty  per  cent  of  metallic 


29 


iron.  Sometimes  the  pockets  of  the  limonite  are  of  consid- 
erable size.  It  is  seldom  that  blasting  is  required.  This 
method  of  mining  is  usually  done  by  contract.  Some  of 
the  mining  companies  work  the  deposits,  as  at  Anniston, 
Ironaton,  etc.  In  this  ease,  they  take  most  of  the  earth  as 
it  occurs,  picking  out  by  hand  the  large  nodules  or  masses 
of  the  ore,  and  convey  the  remainder  directly  in  carts  to 
screw  washers.  This  effects  great  saving,  for  the  fine  ore  is 
not  lost.  This  last  is  usually  the  purest  ore.  By  washing 
the  quantity  of  the  ore  is  not  only  increased,  but  also  there 
are  a few  per  cent  more  of  iron  in  the  ore  thus  treated. 
At  the  present  time,  there  is  a large  quantity  of  the  sifted 
ores  carried  fifty  miles  up  the  valley.  Also,  similar  brown 
ores  are  brought  long  distances  from  Georgia  to  Anniston. 
The  furnaces,  at  Janiper,  carry  all  their  supplies  from  a con- 
siderable distance.  The  deposits  in  the  Talladega  valley  are 
widely  spread,  but  owing  to  the  long  circuitous  routes  to 
Birmingham,  and  those  over  two  railroads,  the  ores  have 
not  yet  extensively  found  their  -way  there,  which  will  be  the 
case  when  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  is  completed, 
lip  to  the  present  time,  the  ores  have  been  shipped  to  An- 
niston, Janiper  or  Ironaton,  to  be  used  in  making  charcoal 
iron  for  car-wheels.  Recently,  however  a furnace  has  been 
erected  at  Talladega,  and  this  will  be  followed  by  others. 

A considerable  list  of  properties  upon  which  the  ore  occurs, 
adjacent  to  the  survey  line,  could  be  given,  but  those  visi- 
ted form  only  a small  number  of  those  reported,  as  proba- 
bly containing  ores. 

Some  of  these  properties  have  been  accumulated,  whilst 
others  in  smaller  tracts  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the  farmers. 
Amongst  those  accumulated,  there  are  some  four  thousand 
acres  belonging  to  Mr.  George  W.  Chambers  of  Talladega. 
This  gentleman  originated  the  present  furnace  company  at 
Talladega,  and  acquired  for  it  some  two  thousand  acres  of 


30 


ore  land.  These  lands  were  acquired  to  supply  two  furna- 
ces. Several  of  the  properties  of  the  remaining  four  thou- 
sand acres  (a  considerable  portion  of  which  has  been  obtain- 
ed since  the  present  furnace  company  was  organized),  I 
have  seen,  and  here  alone  there  is  room  for  probably  four 
more  furnaces.  Indeed,  I doubt  not  that  Talladega  and 
the  environs  is  the  natural  centre  of  at  least  eight  or  ten 
furnaces.  These  lands  have  been  obtained  in  lots  of  from 
forty  to  a few  hundred  acres,  and  whilst  there  are  no  such  oth- 
erlarge  holdings,  yet,  there  is  probably  much  more  land  just 
as  rich  in  iron  as  that  already  taken  up,  and  it  is  now  gen- 
erally held  at  from  $15  to  $20  an  acre  for  that  which  has 
been  explored.  Some  is  held  at  $50  an  acre.  The  smaller 
properties  are  for  sale,  whilst  the  larger,  as  that  of  Mr.  Cham- 
bers is  held  for  investment  in  companies  building  furnaces. 
After  the  successful  efforts  of  Mr,  Chambers  in  opening  up 
the  iron  industry  at  Talladega,  I cheerfully  refer  to  him  any 
parties  interested  in  investing  in  the  iron  industries.  He 
has  also  a property  on  which  there  is  a lake  suitable  for  the 
location  of  furnaces,  which  he  offers  to  companies  build- 
ing furnaces  at  Talladega.  He  has  also  good  brick  yards 
near  the  lake. 

To  obtain  a knowledge  of  the  independent  properties, 
Dr.  William  Taylor  is  referred  to,  however  he  is  not 
interested  in  the  ores,  other  than  a general  wish  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  valley.  Yet,  Dr.  Taylor’s  mills,  four  miles 
from  Talladega,  would  also  be  a good  locality  for  a furnace 
or  factory,  and  the  ore  would  not  have  to  be  carried  any 
farther  than  to  Talladega.  After  the  general  development 
of  the  Birmingham  region,  the  environments  of  Talladega  of- 
fers the  most  favorable  opportunities  for  new  enterprises. 
Even  for  shipment  to  Birmingham,  the  poorer  qualities  of 
the  ore  would  be  sought  after  with  direct  railway  com- 
munication, such  as  the  M.  & B.  Ry  will  afford. 


31 


The  following  is  a complete  analysis  of  one  of  the  infe- 
rior ores,  which  is  however  superior  to  the  Red  Mountain 


ores. 

Silica 2.80 

Peroxide  of  iron 81.47 

Oxide  of  Manganese 0.52 

Alumina 1.92 

Lime trace. 

Phosphoric  Acid 0.43 

Sulphuric  Acid 0.07 

Carbonic  Acid Rone 

Combined  water 0.80 

Moisture 0.69 


Metalic  Iron  57.037 


88.70 


This  sample  was  analysed  by  Mr.  Riley  of  London.  It 
was  evidently  a surface  specimen,  as  there  is  usually  a larg- 
er per  centage  of  water  and  a smaller  per  cent,  of  iron  in 
the  ores. 

A better  idea  of  the  ores  actually  used,  will  be  seen  from 
the  following  analyses  for  the  Talladega  Iron  and  Steel 
Company,  furnished  by  Air.  J.  Lancaster,  the  superintend- 
ent, copied  by  myself  from  the  records  of  many  samples,  as 
being  typical. 

I II  III  IV  \r  ArI  VII 
Iron  53.93  52.31  51.53  47.04  49.28  50.40  51.52 

Silica  4.00  4.30  8.70  11.64  11.90  8.40  7,70 

Phosphorus  0.076  0.04  0.041  0.043  0.322  0.688  1.089 

All  of  these  are  screened  ores,  none  of  them  are  washed. 

Ro.  I is  the  analysis  of  the  ore  from  Air.  Weisinger’s 
farm,  about  two  miles  from  the  furnace,  to  which  there  is 


32 


tramway;  No.  II  is  from  the  ore  bed  at  Carlton  station, 
about  six  miles  from  Talladega  furnace,  on  the  Anniston  and 
Atlantic  Railway — it  is  at  present  the  largest  opening  that 
the  new  furnace  has  made;  No.  Ill  is  from  the  Renfroe 
mine,  beyond  the  mountain,  southwest  of  Talladega;  No. 
IV  is  from  Ogletree  mine,  also  beyond  the  last'  ridge  re- 
ferred to;  No.  V is  from  Mallory’s  mines,  east  of  Baker’s 
Mills,  on  tlieE.  T.  V.  & G.  Railway;  No.  ArI  is  from  Mr. 
Riser’s  farm,  two  or  three  miles  eastward  of  the  last  mine. 
This  last  contains  the  largest  quantity  of  phosphorus  of  any 
ores  analyzed  by  the  Talladega  Furnace  company.  No, 
VII  is  from  Lawson’s  Mine,  belonging  to  Mr.  G.  ML 
Chambers,  in  which  there  is  an  extensive  opening. 

The  ores  about  Anniston  have  practically  the  same  com- 
position as  those  already  given,  but  when  washed  the  iron 
amounts  to  55  or  56  per  cent.  There  is  usually  a little 
maganese  in  the  ore.  The  quantity  of  sulphur  is  not  worth 
considering.  Whilst  the  opes  containing  the  largest  per 
centage  of  phosphorous  are  rendered  unfit  for  charcoal  iron, 
of  the  quality  made  in  this  region,  yet  they  could  be  used 
to  mix  with  the  red  ores  of  Birmingham.  Indeed,  brown 
ores  have  been  used  there  that  contain  over  one  per  cent 
of  •phosphorus. 

From  what  has  been  said,  the  quantity  of  ores  in  the  Tal- 
ladega valley  is  seen  to  be  large,  and  the  quality  good. 
There  is  enough  to  supply  not  merely  the  existing  furnaces 
and  those  under  construction,  and  other  to  be  built,  but  to 
afford  a heavy  freight  to  Birmingham.  Of  this  valley,  not 
merely  in  the  region  of  Talladega,  but  with  the  East  Ten- 
nessee, Virginia,  and  Georgia,  and  the  Anniston  and  At- 
lantic Railways,  the  natural  outlet,  of  the  iron  produced,  to 
the  sea,  both  from  the  southwest,  and  from  beyond  Annis- 
ton to  the  northeast,  will  be  by  way  of  the  Macon  and  Bir- 
mingham Railway. 


33 


OTHER  BROWN  ORES  ADJACENT  TO  THE  SITRVEY. 

BETWEEN  TALLADEGA  AND  RED  MOUNTAIN. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  mountains  west  of  Talladega, 
•formed  of  the  Potsdom  sandstones,  there  is  a belt  of  depos- 
its of  brown  ore,  which,  in  several  localities,  are  very  prom- 
ising, where  they  have  been  opened.  They  belong  to  tbe 
same  geological  position  as  the  Talladega  ores. 

Just  east  of  the  Coosa  River,  near  where  the  survey  cros- 
ses, I found  some  scattered  ore,  of  doubtful  value. 

On  the  western  side  of  the  coosa  river  there  are  kyjge 
deposits  of  brown  ores,  having  the  same  geological  position 
as  those  of  Talladega.  The  ridges  passing  near  Easonville 
post  office  present  excellent  surface  showings,  as  in  some 
places  the  ground  is  literally  covered  with  blocks  or  ledge 
of  ore.  Some  of  them  I visited  on  section  34,  T.  18,  R.  Ill 
E.  (Mr.  M.  C.  Frame’s);  on  section  2,  T.  18,  R.  Ill  L.;  and  on 
section  35,  T.  IT,  R.  Ill  E.  (Mr,  D.  W.  Waite’s),  Rear 
Kelley  Creek  post  office,  on  section  5,  T.  18,  R.  Ill  E.  (Mr. 
T.  R.  Beaver’s)  there  is  a rich  iron  deposit  which  has  been 
dug  into.  Rear  the  village,  there  are  surface  showings  of 
ore.  On  the  ridges  in  section  29,  T.  17,  R.  Ill  E.  (Mr.  Goss’) 
and  on  neighboring  sections  there  are  some  large  deposits  of 
brown  ore.  The  best  display  of  ore  is  on  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Goss,  or  on  that  which  he  sold  to  Col.  Sloss.  These  ridges 
are  the  remains  of  Knox  dolomite,  and  are  commonly  covered 
with  chert  in  great  quantities.  There  is  also  plenty  of  availa- 
ble limestone  at  hand. 

Southwest  of  Kelley  Creek  post  office,  there  are  some 
promising  ore  beds  on  section  27,  T.  18,  R.  II  E.  (Mr.  J. 
M.  Duke’s).  Here  I saw  one  bed  that  had  been  dug  into  for 
a depth  of  three  feet.  It  was  a true  bed  and  not  a pocket. 
There  are  also  adjacent  properties  which  are  iron  bearing. 

In  Little  Cahaba  Valley.  Eastward  of  the  village  of 
Leeds,  upon  the  northwestern  margin  of  the  Coosa  coal  ba- 


34 


sin,  there  are  some  brown  ores,  which,  extending  from  the 
northeastsrn  part  of  T.  17,  R-  I E,  are  said  to  occur  in  large 
quantities.  Upon  the  western  side  of  the  valley  there  are 
also  other  deposits.  The  valley  of  the  Little  Cahaba  is  un- 
derlaid by  the  Knox  dolomite.  Rising  out  of  this,  there  is 
the  Oak  ridge,  on  the  eastern  side  of  which,  about  six  miles 
south  of  Leeds  (on  section  11,  T.  18  R.  I W.  and  adjacent 
properties),  there  is  one  of  the  heaviest  ledges  of  solid  brown 
ore  seen.  It  is  overlaid  by  chert.  This  deposit  was  bought 
WCol.  Sloss,  several  years  ago,  and  is  now  owned,  I believe, 
by  the  Henderson  Steel  and  Iron  Company.  From  the  nat- 
ural position,  a branch  road  should  be  extended  from  Leed's 
past  this  property  to  the  lower  part  of  the  Cabaha  coal  basin. 

Col.  Fred.  Sloss  jr.,  informs  me  that  all  the  brown  ores 
about  Leeds,  with  which  his  family  had  to  do,  contained 
about : 

Iron  50  per  cent. 

Silica  10  per  cent. 

Phosphorus  0.40  per  cent. 

Again,  between  the  Cahaba  coal  field  and  Red  Mountain 
there  are  some  reported  beds  of  brown  ore,  but  none  of 
these  have  I visited. 

East  of  Blue  Mountain  and  in  Clav  County.  L~pon 
the  eastern  side  of  Blue  Mountain,  and  extending  in  both 
directions  from  Porter’s  Gap,  there  is  a heavy  ridge  of 
brown  ore.  It  extends  many  miles  in  length,  but  of  course 
it  is  broken  and  interrupted,  yet  in  places  the  quantity  of 
the  ore  is  enormous.  This  ore  is  associated  with  the  Ocoee 
slates  and  conglomerates,  which  are  semi-metamorphic,  and 
are  situated  on  the  western  border  of  the  Archaean  group. 
This  ore  bed  crosses  the  survey  line  (at  Porter’s  gap),  elev- 
en miles  east  of  Talladega. 

Farther  eastward,  in  Clay  County,  there  are  many  deposits 
of  brown  ore.  Upon  a chain  of  ridges  extending  from 


35 


sec.  36,  T.  20,  R.  VI  E,  diagonally  across  T.  20,  R.  VII  E. 
there  are  some  large  deposits  of  brown  ore.  Mr.  Jasper 
Williams  has  cut  into  a bed  to  a thickness  of  ten  feet  or 
more,  dipping  steeply  to  the  southeast.  The  mean  analy- 
sis of  this  ore  and  surface  samples  from  ad  jacent  parts  of 
the  mountains  is: — iron  56.82  per  centpsilica  9.40  per  cent; 
and  phosphorous  (Mr.  Williams’ ore)  0.4408  per  cent,  and 
of  ore  from  two  other  localities  0.5412  per  cent,  and  0.8091 
per  cent  respectively.  Upon  a parallel  ridge,  is  the  ore  of 
Mr.  Cox,  where  there  is  a thick  bed  of  hematite  and  limo- 
onite,  with  some  seams  of  magnetite  already  noticed  on 
page  22.  These  localities  are  about  live  miles  northwest  of 
Hillabee  post-office.  The  underlying  rock  is  a graphitic 
gneiss.  Within  a half  mile  of  Hillabee,  I saw  another  bed 
of  brown  ore,  lying  in  a bed  shown  me  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Nel- 
son. 

A few  miles  southwest  of  Hillabee,  there  are  other  large 
deposits  of  brown  ore  on  sections  27,  28  and  33,  T.  21,  R. 
VI  E.  Some  surface  ore  from  sec.  28  yielded  Prof.  C. 
M.  Strahn:  metallic  iron  56.18  per  cent;  silica  6.00  per 
cent;  phosphorus  1.20  per  cent.  Some  two  miles  farther 
southwest  there  are  reported  still  larger  deposits  of  ore. 

On  account  of  the  distance  from  railways,  the  mineral 
wealth  of  Clay  County  has  not  been  developed,  and  few  of  the 
orebeds  have  even  been  opened  out.  Of  the  ore  beds  which 
I have  visited,  only  some  of  the  most  promising  have  been 
referred  to,  but  there  are  many  others  of  good  repute  with- 
in easy  access  to  the  survey  line. 

Summary  of  the  localities  of  the  brown  ores. 

(a)Enormous  quantities  of  brown  ore  cover  large  areas  in  or 
adjacent  to  the  Talladega  valley;  (b)  large  quantities  of 
brown  ore  occur  on  the  west  side  of  the  Coosa  River;  (c) 
there  are  large  deposits  of  the  ore  near  Leeds;  and  coming 


36 


eastward  (d)  there  are  the  ores  of  Clay  and  adjacent  parts 
of  other  counties. 

As  coal  and  limestone  enter  into  the  consideration  of  the 
production  of  irons,  and  are  of  as  much  importance  as  the 
ore,  it  will  ■s&iLbetter  to  report  upon  these  before  consider- 
ing the  question  of  iron  manufacture. 

B— COAL. 

THE  COOSA  COAL. 

The  Coosa  coal  fields  are  about  sixty  miles 
long  and  have  an  area  of  150  square  miles.  The 
lower  portion  is  broken  into  two  branches  or  basins,  by  an 
intrusion  of  Knox  dolomite.  Our  survey  crosses  the  ba- 
sins (which  are  nearly  united  in  that  locality),  be 
tween  a point,  just  west  of  Kelley  Creek  post  office, 
and  Thompson’s  Gap,  two  miles  or  more  east  of 
Leeds.  As  the  road  crosses  the  basin  obliquely,  it  is  about 
ten  miles  miles  wide,  but  the  coal  is  found  only  in  the  west- 
ern portion,  from  near  Bald  or  Oak  Mountain  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  basin  to  somewhat  eastward  of  Landrum’s 
mills.  Only  in  a few  localities  have  pits  been  opened  up 
to  the  extent  of  obtaining  coal  for  the  local  blacksmithing. 
These  openings  soon  cave  in  and  obscure  the  coal.  Again 
the  weathering  of  outcrops  is  such  that  for  satisfactory  re- 
ports upon  the  extent  of  the  coal  beds  numerous  openings 
through  the  earth  must  be  made.  The  nearest  locality  to 
the  survey  where  the  Coosa  coal  has  been  worked  is  some 
twelve  miles  to  the  northeast,  at  Broken  Arrow,  in  the 
same  basin.  Prof,  Tuomy  said  that  he  saw  two  seams 
along  the  creek,  each  5 feet  2 inches  thick.  According  to 
the  report  of  the  Geological  Survey  for  1SS2,  there  are  said 
to  be  three  seams  of  coal  respectively  of  3,  34  and  4 feet 
iu  thickness.  In  the  northwest  portion  of  sec.  36,  T.  IT. 
E.  I E.,  there  is  said  to  be  a bed  of  coal  two  feet  thick.  In 
the  adjacent  township  to  the  east  there  are  several  places 


37 


"T 

where  the  coal  is  knowimexist.  Three  of  them  I visited, -on 
the  farm  of  Mr.  James  Dunlap,  on  that  of  Dr.  Owen  (the 
latter  is  on  sec.  29,  T.  17, R.  II  E. ),  and  one  near  Landrum’s 
Mills.  At  the  last  locality  the  coal  is  2 feet  4 inches  thick. 

Farther  north  the  coal  is  reported  to  be  thicker.  As  the 
coal  beds  are  liable  to  vary  in  thickness,  it  is  quite  possible 
that  seams  of  greater  thickness  may  be  found.  The  quality 
of  the  coal  seen  near  Landrum’s  Mills  was  good.  The  Confed- 
erate Government  obtained  coal  from  the  tributaries  of  Bro- 
ken Arrow  Creek,  and  found  that  the  coke  made  therefrom 
wTas  superior  to  any  that  was  obtained  elsewhere  in  Ala- 
bama. 

The  Cahaba  Coal  The  Cahaba  Basin  is  about  seventy 
miles  long,  and  has  an  area  of  250  square  miles  (Prof. 
Smith.)  The  Macon  and  Birmingham  survey  crosses  the 
upper  and  narrow  portion  of  the  basin,  which  is,  there,  four 
and  a half  miles  wide,  but  as  the  road  traverses  it  obliquely, 
the  distance  is  somewhat  increased.  The  eastern 
margin  is  sharply  marked,  as  at  Henryellen,  where  there  is 
a fault  of  about  9,000  feet,  bringing  the  rocks  of  the  Upper 
Cambrian  system,  (Knox  series)  in  contact  with  the  Coal 
Measures  (see  diagram  on  page  39). 

Thus  a man  can  have  one  foot  on  rocks  of  one  Series 
and  the  other  on  rocks  a mile  and  a half  higher,  geolog- 
ically speaking,  which  have  been  brought  opposite  to  each 
other,  by  gigantic  slippings  of  the  earth’s  crust.  From  this 
line  where  the  coals  have  been  overthrown  and  broken,  the 
slope  of  the  rocks  assumes  a dip  to  the  southeast,  which  at 
the  Henryellen  mines  is  from  25°  to  27°,  but  flattens  out  to  8° 
in  proceeding  westward,  thus  facilitating  the  mining 
in  the  more  western  portion  of  the  basin. 

The  rocks,  between  the  coal  beds,  are  shales  and  sandstones, 
the  former  largely  predominating.  The  volume  of  the  coal  is 
best  seen  from  the  following  section,  extending  nearly  across 
the  basin, (except  that  on  western  side, where  only  some  of  the 


33 


lower  and  less  important  seams  occur).  This  section  is  in 
decending  order,  or  proceeding  from  east  to  west,  and  was 
made  by  Mr.  Hugh  Howard,  Superintendent  of  the  Hen- 


ryellen  mines. 

L — -Coal 
Rock. 

3 feet. 

4 “ 

K — Coal 

3 “ 

Rock  1000  “ 


J— Coal 
Rock 

“ intern pted  with  thin  shaly  partings. 
40  “ 

I — Coal 
Rock 

54  “ this  is  the  lower  Henrvellen  seam. 
30  “ 

Id — -Coal 

2£“ 

Rock 

250  ‘‘ 

G — -Coal 

2 

Rock 
F— Coal 
Shale 
Coal 
Rock 

950  “ 

1 foot  3 inches. 
10  inches. 

1 foot. 

200  feet. 

E — Coal 
Rock 

2 feet. 
8 “ 

D — Coal 
Shale 
Coal 
Rock 
C— Coal 
Rock 

B— Coal 
Rock 

1 foot. 

1 foot  3 inches. 

3 feet  6 “ it  contains  a half  inch  of  shale 
250  feet, 

3 feet  shale  parting  near  top. 

150  “ 

5 feet,  with  two  shale  partings  near  top. 
400  “ 

A— Coal 

2 “ 5 inches. 

The  position  of  the  beds  is  illustrated  in  the  section  on  op- 
posite page. 


39 


40 


Thus  .there  are  eight  seams  known,  that  are  three  feet  or 
more  in  thickness,  and  even  thinner  could  be  worked.  In  the 
same  Cahaba  coal  basin,  in  one  portion  or  another,  Mr.  J. 
Squires  has  found  more  than  twenty  other  thin  seams,  but 
these  are  not  worth  considering  from  the  economic  stand- 
point. There  are  in  sight  over  30  feet  of  workable  coal 
covering  a large  area,  giving  practically  an  unlimited  quan- 
tity. 

The  thickness  of  the  seams  (and  of  the  rock  between  the 
seams)  is  vary  variable.  Thus  there  may  be  seen  in  two 
shafts  at  the  Henryellen  Mines,  only  a mile  apart,  the  sec- 
tions differing  as  follows: 


NORTHERN  SHAFT, 

SOUTHERN  SHAFT. 

Coal 

6%  feet 

Coal 

6-|  feet. 

Shale 

11  “ 

Shale 

40  “ 

Coal 

5|  “ 

Coal 

5£  “ 

Shale 

2i  “ 

Rock 

30  “ (shale  and 

Coal 

Coal 

2-£  “ sandstones^ 

Farther  north,  the  three  seams  unite  to  form  one,  known 
as  the  “Mammouth”  seam,  which  reaches  a thickness  of  from 
1 1 to  14  feet  These  are  the  three  seams  of  the  general  section, 
lettered  II.  I.  J.  Seam  I is  that  worked  at  present  in  the 
Henryellen  mines.  However,  in  some  cases  this  mass  of 
coal  is  represented  by  only  three  feet  of  coal.  Other  beds 
become  double  the  thickness  given  in  the  section. 


The  general  character  of  the  coals  of  the  Cahaba  basin, 
compared  with  the  coals  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  analyses: 


Specific  gravity, 

I 

1.26 

II  III 

1.35  1.24 

IV 

1.26 

Moisture, 

1.98 

2.13  5.20 

4.54 

Volatile  combustabie  matter, 

31.47 

27.03  34.80 

34.61 

Fixed  cat  bon, 

63.92 

66.22  57.20 

58.68 

Ash, 

2.63 

4.62  2.60 

2.17 

41 


Sulphur,  as  Sulphide  of  Iron, 

and  as  Sulphates,  1.06  0.502  — — 0.87 

No.  I is  the  mean  of  ten  analyses  from  eight  seams  of  the 
Cahaba  basin  by  Mr.  R.  P.  Rath  well  (from  the  Report  of 
the  Alabama  Survey  for  1875).  No.  II  is  the  analysis  of 
the  Montevallo  seam,  near  the  southern  part  of  the  Cahaba 
basin,  this  being  given  as  it  is  a favorite  domestic  fuel.  No. 
Ill  is  the  mean  of  fourteen  analyses  of  Indiana  coals  (Cox). 
No.  IV  is  the  mean  of  six  analyses  of  Ohio  coals  (Newberry). 
There  was  a remakable  degree  of  similarity  amongst  the 
different  coal  which  went  to  make  up  the  mean  analysis  of 
the  Cahaba  coal  basin. 

The  coals  of  the  Cahaba  basin  are  remarkably  dry  ,and  are 
further  superior  to  the  coal  of  Indiana  and  Ohio  as  to  heat- 
ing power,  on  account  of  the  larger  quantity  of  fixed  carbon. 
They  are  also  remarkably  low  in  ash.  Some  of  tho  Cahaba 
coal  burn  dry  and  this  is  one  of  the  reasons  that  the  Monte- 
vallo coal  is  such  a favorite  for  domestic  purposes,  together 
with  its  freedom  from  shale,  although  it  contains  a larger 
amount  of  ash  than  some  of  the  other  coals.  Whilst 
many  of  the  coals  are  dry  burners,  to  such  an  extent  that 
some  of  them  would  work  raw  in  the  furnaces,  others  make 
good  coke.  A portion  of  the  coal  at  Henryellen,  as  well 
as  seams  at  many  other  places,  make  a tine  quality  of  coke 
of  hard  texture  and  silvery  appearance.  The  Cahaba  coals 
are  generally  freer  from  shale  than  the  coals  of  the  Warrior 
basin,  and  consequently  the  cokes  contain  a smaller  quanti- 
ty of  ash  and  cinders.  The  small  quantity  of  sulphur  is  an- 
other feature  in  the  value  of  the  Cahaba  coals. 

The  cost  of  mining  will  vary  at  different  mines,  and  in  dif- 
ferent seams.  At  the  Henryellen  mines,  where  the  seam 
that  is  being  worked  is  six  feet  thick, the  miner  receives  forty- 
five  cents  atom  The  cost  of  coal  at  the  surface  is  less  than 
fifty  cents  a ton.  To  this  add  the  fixed  charges  (wear  of 


42 


machinery,  interest,  etc.)  Consequently,  the  absolute  cost 
of  coal  on  the  cars  is  not  over  sixty-five  or  possible  seventy 
cents  per  ton.  At  the  present  time,  seams  can  he  worked, 
if  coal  can  he  put  on  the  cars  at  eighty  or  eiglity-five  cents  a 
ton.  Railway  companies  are  getting  coal  from  Henry ellen 
mines  at  $1.10  a ton.  Whether  these  coals  sell  at  any  lower 
figures,  I do  not  know,  hut  farther  west,  in  the  Birmingham 
district,  coal  can  be  obtained  at  one  dollar  a ton.  Adjacent  to 
the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway,  the  Henry  - 

ellen  mines  are  the  only  works  in  the  Cahaba  coal  basin, 
for  until  the  building  of  the  Georgia  Pacific  Railway  there 
was  no  outlet.  Besides,  the  basin  for  about  ten  miles  on 
either  side,  belongs  to  the  company.  Farther  south,  there 
are  numerous  mines  in  this  basin,  including  the  Moute- 
villo,  which  has  been  worked  since  1855. 

At  the  Henryellen  mines,  there  are  two  shafts  in  opera- 
tion, The  present  output  is  250  to  300  tons  a day.  This 
is  entirely  used  as  steam  and  heating  coal,  part  of  which 
finds  its  way  to  Birmingham  and  part  goes  eastward  to 
Georgia.  But  with  the  construction  of  iron  furnaces  in 
the  Talladega  valley  and  elsewhere  to  the  east,  using  coke, 
the  Cahaba  coal  will  be  largely  used  in  the  iron  manufac- 
ture. This  will  necessitate  the  opening  of  new  mines,  and 
a branch  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  running 
south-westward  would  open  up  the  most  natural  supply  mar- 
ket for  the  coke  required  in  the  Talladega  valley,  and  for  the 
coals  needed  in  central  and  eastern  Georgia.  The  Cahaba 
coal,  being  freer  from  shale  bands  than  the  Warrior  coal, 
yields  a coke  much  freer  from  ash  than  the  more  western 
coals.  (See  analyses  beyond  at  page  44.)  The  better  class 
of  northern  cokes  are  made  from  coal  yielding  from  55  per- 
cent to  70  per  cent,  of  coke.  From  analyses  of  the  Cahaba 
coals,  it  will  be  seen  that  those  coals  will  yield  as  large  a 
per  centage  of  coke  as  the  better  class  of  the  northern  coals, 
and  contain  but  little  sulphur  and  a low  per  centage  of  ash. 


43 


It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  price  of  coke  at  Birming- 
ham is  from  $2.00  to  $2.25  per  ton  at  the  furnaces. 

The  Warrior  Coal  Basin.  As  the  coals  of  the  War- 
iror  basin  are  not  along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and  Birming- 
ham Survey,  I have  made  no  special  report.  But  the  basin 
is  of  importance,  oil  account  of  the  large  output  of  coal,  the 
greater  portion  of  which  is  consumed  in  the  furnaces  and 
by  the  railways.  Whilst,  but  a limited  portion  of  the  War- 
rior coal  will  find  its  way  over  the  Macon  and  Birmingham 
.Railway,  yet  the  furnaces  to  the  east  of  Birmingham,  as  at 
Talladega,  will  not  entirely  depend  upon  the  Cahaba  coals. 
The  Warrior  coal  is  of  importance  in  keeping  the  Cahaba 
coal  prices  within  reasonable  limits,  and  also  in  being  the 
great  source  of  supply  of  coke  to  the  furnaces  which  will 
send  their  iron  over  the  Railwav.  The  following  statements 
taken  from  the  report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Alabama, 
for  1885  will  add  interest  to  the  present  report. 

The  Warror  coal  basin  has  an  area  of  7,810  square  miles. 
The  maximum  thickness  of  the  Coal  Measures  is  estimated 
at  3,000  feet,  and  contain  nearly  fifty  seams  of  coal  with  an 
aggregate  thickness  of  nearly  100  feet;  There  are  six  beds 
of  four  feet  and  over  in  thickness.  The  available  bit- 
uminous and  semi-bituminous  coal  of  Alabama  is  estimated 
at  three  times  the  amount  of  that  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 


The  composition  of  tire  coals  is  shown  in  the  following 
analyses: 


Pratt 

Mines. 

Specific  gravity  1.999 

Kew 

Castle. 

1.33 

Black 

Creek. 

1.36 

Connell- 

ville. 

Sulphur  1.041 

0.64 

0.10 

0.06 

Moisture  1.025 

0.50 

0.12 

1.20 

Volatile  matter  32.169 

28.24 

26.11 

28.50 

Fixed  carbon  63.370 

59.69 

71.64 

64.12 

Ash  3.342 

19.92 

2.93 

6.12 

Connellville  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  coking  coals  of 
the  [North,  and  its  analysis  is  given  for  comparison.  Whilst 
the  analyses  show  the  chemical  composition  of  the  coals 
they  do  not  show  the  physical  properties  upon  which  their 
value  partly  depends.  The  Pratt  mines,  six  miles 
from  Birmingham,  supply  about  a third  of  the  present  de- 
mand, there  being  a daily  output,  in  1889,  of  4,500  tons. 

The  composition  of  the  coke  is  seen  in  the  following 
analyses  by  Mr.  A.  F.  Brainard,  of  Birmingham: 


I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

Moisture 

0.165 

0.500 

$ ) 

0.075 

0.200 

0.150 

Volatile 

1.190 

1.700 

} 1.60  f 

2,720 

1.600 

1.120 

Fixed  carbon  86.744 

90.340 

83.43 

91.355 

92.304 

91.468 

Sulphur 

1.501 

0.800 

0.72 

0.700 

1.116 

0.661 

Ash 

10.822 

6.660 

14.25 

5.150 

4.780 

6.000 

100.00 

100.000 

100.000 

100.000 

100.000 

100.00 

jNTo.  I is  sampled  from  the  stock  pile  of  the  Tenn.  C.  and 
I.  Co.,  and  is  coke  from  the  Pratt  coal.  Ho.  II  is  sampled 
from  coke  ovens  of  the  Sloss  Furnace  Company,  also  made 
from  Pratt  coal.  Ho.  Ill  is  from  the  stock  pile  of  the 
Alice  furnace  (1885)  and  also  from  the  Pratt-coal.  Ho,  IV 
is  from  the  Cahaba  coal,  and  is  here  introduced  to  show  its 
superior  character.  Ho.  V.  is  from  washed  coal  of  Watt's 
mine.  Ho.  VI  is  from  Hewcastle  coal.  Mr.  Brainard  says 
that  the  average  amount  of  ash  in  cokes  used  at  Birming- 
ham is  probably  from  10  to  12  per  cent  of  the  coke  (in 
1888,)  but  that  a reduction  of  3 per  cent  has  been  effected 
in  three  years,  and  that  with  more  skilled  labor  in  mining 
and  removing  the  shale  from  the  coal,  a further  reduction 
can  be  easily  accomplished. 

The  development  of  the  coal  trade  is  an  index  to  the 
growth  of  the  iron  and  general  carrying  trade  of  the  manu- 
facturing district,  as  over  a third  of  the  coal  is  used  at  the 
furnaces.  In  1870,  the  output  of  coal  was  only  11.000  tons 
in  1882, S00, 000  tous;  in  1885,2,225,000  tons;  in  1SS9,  the 


45 


coal  mined  reaches  over  14,000  tons  a day  (according  to 
Mceio,  Sloan  and  Vedeler)  or  approximately  four  and.  a half 
million"  tons  a year.  This  is  the  yield  of  only  the  twenty- 
six  principal  companies.  The  quantity  will  be  considera- 
bly increased  in  1890,  as  there  is  a large  number  of  new 
furnaces  undergoing  construction. 

The  quantity  of  coke  produced  in  1885  was  304,509  tons;# 
the  daily  product  in  1889  is  3643  tons,  which  will  yield  nearly 
a million  for  the  year.  This  amount  will  also  be  increased 
next  year  by  the  use  of  coke  in  the  new  furnaces,  including 
those  at  Talladega  and  Anniston.  The  quantity  of  the 
coal  is  practically  inexhaustible.  With  the  continuous 
and  heavy  growth  in  the  iron  manufactures  i alone, 
the  construction  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Bail- 
way,  giving  a shorter  road  to  the  sea,  by  which  a great  pro- 
portion of  the  iron  for  the  north  must  go,  is  only  a matter 
of  a short  time,  owing  to  the  successful  competition  of  the 
southern  iron  with  the  northern,  even  in  the  northern  mar- 
kets. 

C — LIMESTONES. 

Under  this  head  the  consideration  of  the  marbles  will  fol- 
low tnat  of  the  limestones.  Economically,  the  value  of 
these  rocks  is  manifold.  In  point  of  quantity  used,  that 
consumed  in  the  iron  furnaces  is  by  far  the  largest.  Then 
the  supply  for  building  materials  is  unlimited,  as  well  as  for 
road  making.  But  a very  large  demand,  and  one  which  in- 
volves long  transportation,  is  that  used  for  lime  making. 

Limestone  adjacent  to  the  Survey  near  Birmingham. 
The  question  of  the  occurence  of  limestone  is  not  the  only 
one  to  the  economist,  but  whether  it  be  sufficiently  uncov- 
ered in  nfture,  and  in  sufficient  masses  to  be  worked  with- 
out the  expenditure  of  non-productive  labor,  in  removing 
the  earth  covering,  etc.  Such  conditions  is  best  developed 
in  only  one  place  near  Birmingham — at  Gate  City,  some  six 


46 


miles  to  the  northeastward  of  the  great  manufacturing-  cen- 
tre.  Here,  on  the  northern  side  of  Red  Gap,  the  limestone 
rises  to  the  top  of  Red  Mountain,  and  for  nearly  a mile  in 
length,  there  is  a surface  exposure  of  over  a quarter  of  a 
mile  in  width.  The  height  of  the  ridge  is  about  250  feet 
above  the  drainage  level  of  the  adjacent  valleys.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  limestone,  from  a boring,  has  been  found  to  be 
over  600  feet.  The  rocks  lie  comparatively  flat,  as,  in  part, 
the  beds  dips  at  only  7°  to  the- southeast,  whilst  those  nearer 
Red  Gap  have  been  more  disturbed  bv  local  dislocation. 
Witffl  the  present  prices  of  limestone,  this  is  practically  the 
oj||ly  large  source  of  supply  for  the  Birmingham  furnaces 
within  a distance  of  abo.ut  twenty-five  miles.  It  may  here 
be  said  that  these  quarries,  being  only  six  miles  from 
Birmingham,  have  a considerable  advantage  over  any  others 
in  freight  rates.  They  were  opened  by  the  Messrs  Sloss. 
These  gentlemen  have  contracts  for  over  a thousand  tons  of 
broken  limestone  a day,  with  fifteen  of  the  neighboring 
furnaces,  which  pay  from  60  to  674  cents  a ton,  delivered, 
the  freight  being  174  and  25  cents  a ton,  according  to  .the 
locality.  The  cost  of  quarrying  is  reduced  to  a minimum, 
as  there  are  opened  up  rock  faces  of  sixty  feet  or  more  in 
height  and  by  the  drilling  of  lafge  holes  by  steampower.and 
the  use  of  heavy  charges  of  dynamite,  a single  set  of 
explosions  will  often  bring  down  a much  as  30,000  tons.  The 
cost  of  quarryiug  and  loading  is  reduced  to  from  22  to  27 
cents  a ton.  The  fixed  charges  increase  the  cost  some- 
what. These  quarries  are  unquestionably  amongst  the 
most  valuable  properties  in  the  Birmingham  district. 

The  quality  of  the  limestone  is  good  as  shown  by  an  anal- 
ysis of  Mr.  Alfred  L.  Brainard: 


47 


Sample  I 

Sample  II 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Ferrous  oxide 

0.440 

0.704 

Silica 

2.790 

3.380 

Alumina 

— 

1.297 

Carbonate  of  lime 

94.220 

92.4S2 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 

2.519 

0.757 

Undetermined  loss 

0.031 

1.381 

This  limestone  belongs  to  the  Trenton  series  of  geology, 
and  is  the  same  at  that  so  largely  used  in  other  localities. 
The  rock  is  a fine  grained,  compact,  hluisli.  and  occurs 
in  thick  beds,  It  makes  a good  building  stone,  and  very 
durable, 

Limestones  at  Leeds,  oe  in  the  Yai.ley  of  the  Little 
Cahaba,  adjacent  to  the  Sixevey.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
fine  bluish  limestone  in  the  valley  just  named.  This  is  not 
only  fit  for  building  purposes,  but  is  available  for  use  in  iron 
furnaces,  in  case  any  should  be  built.acljacent  to  the  ore  beds, 
which  occur  there,  and  have  been  described  on  page  34. 
This  limestone  belongs  to  the  Knox  series  and  is  similar  to 
that  used  at  Talladega. 

Limstones  neae  the  Coosa  Rivee.  Adjacent  to  the 
survey,  at  Horn's’  Gap,  about  four  miles  from  the  crossing 
of  the  Coosa  River,  there  is  a well  exposed  ridge  of  Knox 
dolomite,  which  is  fit  for  both  building  stones  and  for  furn- 
ace use,  when  the  adjacent  iron  ores,  described  on  page 
33,  come  to  be  used 

Limestone  in  the  Talladega  Valley,  This  stone  is 
dolomite  or  magnesian  limetone-that  is  a double  carbonate 
of  lime  and  magnesia;  consisting,  when  pure,  of  calcium  car- 
bonate 54.35,  and  m^nasium  carbonate  45.65  per  cent. 
However,  the  lime  often  predominates,  and  the  rock  is  apt 
to  contain  impurities  Pure  magnesian  limestone  is  as  suit- 
able for  fluxing  iron  ores  as  the  simple  limestones. 


48 


The  Talladega  limestone  belongs  to  the  Knox  series,  the 
same  as  the  limestones  at  Leeds  and  west  of  the  Coosa  Riv- 
er. The  quality  of  the  stone  at  Talladega  is  shown  by  the 
analysis  furnished  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  the  Superintendant  of 
the  Talladega  Iron  and  Steel  Company’s  furnace. 


Sample  I. 

Sample  II 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  lime  65.00 

52.10 

Carbonate  of  [magnesia  32.00 

46.21 

Silica  2.40 

0.38 

Alumina  and  iron  oxide 

1.20 

This  is  a good  fluxing  stone,  as  the  silica  is  in  small  pro- 
portions, and  the  other  impurities  are  not  worth  consider- 
ing. There  is  an  abundance  of  limestone  in  the  valley,  and 
this  is  the  stone  used  at  the  Talladega  furnace.  It  is  also  a 
good  building  stone  of  a bluish  color  and  of  line  texture. 
Except  the  marbles  along  the  southeastern  side  of  the 
great  valley,  of  -which  Talladega  is  a part,  there  are  no  lime- 
stones anywhere  to  the  eastward  along  the  Macon  and  Birm- 
ingham Railway. 

The  Marbles.  Upon  the  southeastern  side  of  the  valley, 
approaching  to  within  about  four  miles  of  Talladega,  there 
is  a thick  deposit  of  marble  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  semi- 
metaphoric  rocks  of  the  Ocoee  series,  before  described,  By 
boring, this  deposit  is  known  to  be  over  a hundred  feet  thick. 
In  some  places,  a considerable  portion  lies  below  the  drain- 
age level  of  the  valley.  The  belt  of  marble  extends  for 
long  distances  on  both  sides  of  the  survey. 

In  some  places,  the  marbles  are  of  the  most  beautiful 
white  varieties,  of  finegrained  texture;  in  other  places  blue; 
again  they  are  banded.  Some  of  the  marbles  are  compact 
without  any  grain  apparent  to  the  eye.  The  best  marble 
seen  for  sculpture  or  for  fine  work  is  that  at  Syllacauga.  At 
Bowie’s  quarry,  a few  miles  south  of  the  survey,  there  have 


49 


been  the  most  extensive  workings.  Here  we  find  some 
marble  of  good  quality.  The  surface  is  everywhere  worn 
into  more  or  less  irregular  forms.  Some  of  the  varieties 
are  only  fit  for  lime.  But  this  is  a condition  in  every  mar- 
ble deposit.  The  very  finest  quality,  has  everywhere  to 
be  assorted  from  great  masses.  At  the  Carrara  quarries,  the 
celebrated  place  for  the  Italian  stone, there  are  only  about  500 
tons  a year  of  statuary  marble  obtained  out  of  the  product 
of  the  labor  of  3,000  men,  the  vast  proportion  being  com- 
mon marble.  Prof.  C.  II.  Hitchcock  has  identified  this 
Alabama  marble  as  being  of  the  same  geological  position  as 
the  Y ermont  marble.  With  the  indifferent  marble  being  used 
in  the  furnaces  as  a flux,  or  in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  and 
there  is  practicallyno  limit  to  the  quantity, and  a large  marble 
trade  ought  to  spring  up.  The  composition  of  the  marble 
at  Bowie’s  quarry,  which  is  being  largely  used  for  flux,  at 
Anniston,  was  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Lancaster:  . 

Carbonate  of  lime  98.72  per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  0.56  “ “ 

Silica  0.50 

At  Herd’s  upper  quarry,  Prof.  Tuomy  found. 

Carbonate  of  lime  99.47  per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  0.38  “ “ 

Silica  trace. 

According  to  these  analyses,  we  see  that  for  fluxing  and 
for  lime  these  marbles  are  unsurpassed. 

Limes.  Exclusive  of  cements,  there  are  two  kinds  of 
lime  used — those  that  are  made  from  pure  limestones,  and 
those  from  magnesian  limestones.  In  either  case,  the  freer 
from  earthy  matter  the  better  is  the  product.  That  made 
from  limestone  swells  up  upon  being  slackened  to  a much 
greater  bulk  thanthat  from  magnesian  limestone,  and  among 
masons  is'called  “fat  lime”  to  distinguish  it  from  that  contain- 
ing magnesia  which  does  not  swell  so  much.  The  magnes- 


50 


ian  lime  is  however  somewhat  stronger,  and  when  made 
with  a wood  fire  has  more  or  less  hydraulic  properties.  But 
masons  prefer  the  fat  lime  as  a general  rule.  In  the  Talla- 
dega valley,  there  must  spring  up  a large  lime  business,  not 
merely  to  supply  the  demand  along  the  line  of  the  Macon 
and  Birmingham  Bailway,  but  a large  district  in  eastern 
Georgia,  if  not  indeed  in  adjacent  States.  Here,  near  Talla- 
dega, there  is  an  abundance  of  both  kinds  of  limestone  of 
fine  quality.  The  marbles  and  limestones  for  building  pur- 
poses must  also  find  their  way  over  the  line  to  the  east.  For 
all  furnaces  built  to  the  east  of  Blue  Mountain,  and  in  Clay 
County,  the  fluxing  stone  must  be  obtained  from  the  mar- 
bles or  limestones  just  described,  oceuring  eastward  of  Tal- 
ladega, or  at  Taylor's  mills. 

I)— NOTES  .ON  IKON  MANUFACTURE. 

The  success  of  the  Birmingham  iron  is  seen  by  the  fact 
of  the  steady  increase  of  the  iron  industry  until  there  are 
now  over  twenty  furnaces  in  the  district,  and  with  those  in 
construction,  there  will  soon  be  over  twenty-five  in  operation. 
The  capacity  of  twenty-five  of  them  is  given  by  Messrs 
Bicc-io,  Sloan  and  Vedeler,  at  2570  tons  a day.  Making 
ample  allowance  for  furnaces  undergoing  repairs,  the 
annual  capacity  for  1S90  will  be  over  800,000  tons,  much  <•! 
which  is  of  a high  grade  of  gray  iron.  Only  a comparatively 
small  proportion  of  the  iron  is  consumed  in  the  district, 
and  most  of  it  finds  its  way  over  long  railway  hauls.  But 
as  shown  from  the  quantity  of  the  ore  and  coal  in  the 
district,  there  is  still  room  for  many  more  furnaces.  The 
demand  is  also  increasing  with  the  disappearance  of  the 
groundless  prejudice  in  the  North  against  the  Southern 
iron,  as  it  can  be  made  more  cheaply  than  the  products  ot 
the  North,  for  the  same  quality  of  metal.  Already,  vast 
quantities  are  now  competing  with  the  Northern  iron  in 
the  New  York  and  other  markets.  The  cheapest  trails- 


51 


portation  is  to  convey  the  iron  to  Savannah  by  rail  'and 
thence  by  sea;  and  every  facility  offered  to  reduce  the  cost 
will  add  to  the  development  of  the  industry.  The  freight 
from  the  furnaces  at  the  present  time  is  less  than  $4,00 — 
($3,85)  per  ton  to  New  York.  With  the  completion  of  the 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway,  which  will  be  the 
shortest  road  ancWzeasie'st  grade,  the  advantages  in  trans- 
portation will  be  correspondingly  great. 

The  cost  of  the  iron  varies  with  each  furnace,  but  it  can 
be  approximately  seen  in  the  following  figures: 


2 tons  of  soft  ore  at  $1.25  per  ton 

$2.50 

1 T tons  of  coke  at  $2.25  ” ” 

$3.37 

ton  of  limestone  at  0.67-J-  c.  ” 

$0.43 

furnace  labor  and  fixed  charges  ” 

$1.50 

Cost  of  pig  iron  “ 

$7.80 

In  many  cases,  the  amount  of  limestone 

is  equal  to  the 

weight  of  metal  produced,  which  will  somewhat  increase 
the  cost.  On  the  other  hand,  the  cost  of  coke  may  fall 
below  the  price  given.  The  price  of  the  ore  given  is  that 
of  the  best  soft  red  variety  delivered  at  furnaces,  which 
buy  their  supplies.  The  price  of  the  harder  ores  falls  to 
$1.00,  or  sometimes  less,  per  ton,  but  they  are  not  so  rich  in 
the  metal.  For  those  furnaces  which  own  ores,  there  is  a 
heavy  reduction  in  the  price.  Further  reduction  in  the 
cost  may  be  effected  in  the  economic  handling  at  the  fur- 
naces. Thus  Col.  Fred.  Sloss,  Jr.  informs  me  that  under  the 
old  management  of  their  furnace,  they  were  able  to  produce 
highly  graphitic  pig  iron,  with  the  silicon  down  to  2 per- 
cent, by  the  use  of  2,800  pounds  of  coke  carrying  15  per 
cent  of  ash. 

As  to  the  cost  of  obtaining  the  ore,  it  varies  greatly  from 
that  in  open  pits  where  it  is  only  quarried,  a ta  price  but  little 
more  than  that  of  limestone, to  more  costly  underground  min- 


52 

ing.  In  one  of  the  SlossCo’s  mines  where  the  seam  is  four  feet 
thick,  but  where  there  is  a large  quantity  of  superfluous  ma- 
terial to  he  moved,  the  cost  at  the  mouth  of  the  mine' is  about 
forty  cents  a ton,  exclusive  of  fixed  charges.  To  this  must 
be  added,  the  freight  which  alone  may  reach  25  cents  a ton. 
In  such  a favored  locality  as  at  Gate  City,  where  the  ore 
and  limestone  could  be  handled  so  as  not  to  pass  over  the 
railways,  the  cost  of  the  pig  metal  could  doubtless  be  re- 
duced to  nearly  a dollar  below  the  above  approximate  price. 

Most  of  the  Iron  Manufactures  prefer  to  use  a small  pro- 
portions of  brown  ore  along  with  the  red^  as  it  makes  the 
furnaces  work  easier,  and  causes  a relatively  larger  amount 
of  metal  to  pass  through  the  furnaces  in  a day,  than  when 
only  red  ores  are  used  alone.  The  price  of  the  brown  ores 
varies  from  $1 .75  to  $2.25  per  ton,  as  they  have  to  be  trans- 
ported farther  than  the  red  ores,  but  they  usually  carry  a 
large  per  centage  of  iron. 

The  average  quantity  of  phosphorus  in  the  pig  iron  is  f of 
of  one  per  cent,  and  when  it  is  in  access  of  this  amount,  it 
comes  from  the  use  of  brown  ores  rich  in  this  substance, 
(Brainard) 

Furnaces  east  of  Birmingham,  along  the  line  of  the 
Survey. 

It  is  probable  that  a furnace  will  be  located  near  Leeds  to 
use  the  ore  described  on  page  34. 

Another  furnace  may  be  located  just  west  of  the  Coosa 
River  to  use  the  ores  described  on  page. 

At  Talladega,  one  furnace  capable  of  yielding  about 
35,000  tons  a year  has  just  gone  into  blast.  The  same  company 
propose  to  erect,  another  furnace,  and  establishments  for  the 
manufacture  of  their  products.  This  is  a coke  furnace,  bring- 
ing its  coke  from  the  Birmingham  district,  which  by  our 
Railroad  will  be  much  shorter  than  the  by  other  roads.  This 


45 


coal  mined  readies  over  14,000  tons  a day  (according  to 
Riccio,  Sloan  and  Yedeler  ) or  approximately  four  and  a half 
million  tons  a year.  This  is  the  yield  of  only  the  twenty- 
six  principal  companies.  The  quantity  will  be  considera- 
bly increased  in  1890,  as  there  is  a large  number  of  new 
furnaces  undergoing  construction. 

The  quantity  of  coke  produced  in  18S5  was  304,509  tons; 
the  daily  product  in  1889  is  3643  tons,  which  will  yield  nearly 
a million  for  the  year.  This  amount  will  also  be  increased 
next  year  by  the  use  of  coke  in  the  new  furnaces,  including 
those  at  Talladega  and  Anniston.  The  quantity  of  the 
coal  is  practically  inexhaustible.  With  the  continuous 
and  heavy  growth  in  the  iron  manufactures  alone, 
the  construction  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Rail- 
way, giving  a shorter  road  to  the  sea,  by  which  a great  pro- 
portion of  the  iron  for  the  north  must  go,  is  only  a matter 
of  a short  time,  owing  to  the  successful  competition  of  the 
southern  iron  with  the  northern,  even  in  the  northern  mar- 
kets. 

C— LIMESTONES. 

Under  this  head  the  consideration  of  the  marbles  will  fol- 
low that  of  the  limestones.  Economically,  the  value  of 
these  rocks  is  manifold.  In  point  of  quantity  used,  that 
consumed  in  the  iron  furnaces  is  by  far  the  largest.  Then 
the  supply  for  building  materials  is  unlimited,  as  well  as  for 
road  making.  But  a very  large  demand,  and  one  which  in- 
volves long  transportation,  is  that  used  for  lime  making. 

Limestone  adjacent  to  the  Survey  near  Birmingham. 
The  question  of  the  occurence  of  limestone  is  not  the  only 
one  to  the  economist,  but  whether  it  be  sufficiently  uncov- 
ered in  nature,  and  in  sufficient  masses  to  be  worked  with- 
out the  expenditure  of  non-productive  labor,  in  removing 
the  earth  covering,  etc.  Such  conditions  is  best  developed 
in  only  one  place  near  Birmingham — -at  Gate  City,  some  six 


46 


miles  to  the  northeastward  of  the  great  manufacturing  cen- 
tre. Here,  on  the  northern  side  of  Red  Gap,  the  limestone 
rises  to  the  top  of  Red  Mountain,  and  for  nearly  a mile  in 
length,  there  is  a surface  exposure  of  over  a quarter  of  a 
mile  in  width.  The  height  of  the  ridge  is  about  250  feet 
above  the  drainage  level  of  the  adjacent  valleys.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  limestone,  from  a boring,  has  been  found  to  be 
over  600  feet.  The  rocks  lie  comparatively  flat,  as,  in  part, 
the  beds  dips  at  only  7°  to  the  southeast,  whilst  those  nearer 
Red  Gap  have  been  more  disturbed  by  local  dislocation. 
With  the  present  prices  of  limestone,  this  is  practically  the 
only  large  source  of  supply  for  the  Birmingham  furnaces 
within  a distance  of  about  twenty  five  miles.  It  may  here 
be  said  that  these  quarries,  being  only  six  miles  from 
Birmingham,  have  a considerable  advantage  over  any  others 
in  freight  rates.  They  were  opened  by  the  Messrs  Sloss. 
These  gentlemen  have  contracts  for  over  a thousand  tons  of 
broken  limestone  a day,  with  fifteen  of  the  neighboring 
furnaces,  which  pay  from  60  to  6 7 4 cents  a ton,  delivered, 
the  freight  being  174  and  25  cents  a ton.  according  to  the 
locality.  The  cost  of  quarrying  is  reduced  to  a minimum, 
as  there  are  opened  up  rock  faces  of  sixty  feet  or  more  in 
height  and  by  the  drilling  of  large  holes  by  steampower.and 
the  use  of  heavy  charges  of  dynamite,  a single  set  of 
explosions  will  often  bringdown  a much  as  30,000  tons.  The 
cost  of  quarrying  and  loading  is  reduced  to  from  22  to  27 
cents  a ton.  The  fixed  charges  increase  the  cost  some- 
what. These  quarries  are  unquestionably  amongst  the 
most  valuable  properties  in  the  Birmingham  district. 

The  quality  of  the  limestone  is  good  as  shown  by  an  anal- 
ysis of  Mr.  Alfred  L.  Brainard: 


Sample  I 

Sample  II 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Ferrous  oxide 

0.440 

0.704 

Silica 

2.790 

3.380 

Alumina 

1.297 

Carbonate  of  lime 

94.220 

92.482 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 

2.519 

0.757 

Undetermined  loss 

0.031 

1 381 

This  limestone  belongs  to  the  Trenton  series  of  geology, 
and  is  the  same  at  that  so  largely  used  in  other  localities. 
The  rock  is  a fine  grained,  compact,  bluish,  and  occurs 
in  thick  beds.  It  makes  a good  building  stone,  and  very 
durable, 

Limestones  at  Leeds,  ok  in  the  Valley  of  the  Little 
Cahaba,  adjacent  to  the  Survey.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
fine  bluish  limestone  in  the  valley  just  named.  This  is  not 
only  fit  for  building  purposes,  but  is  available  for  use  in  iron 
furnaces,  in  case  any  should  be  built  adjacent  to  the  ore  beds, 
which  occur  there,  and  have  been  described  on  page  3d. 
This  limestone  belongs  to  the  Knox  series  and  is  similar  to 
that  used  at  Talladega. 

Limstones  near  the  Coosa  River.  Adjacent  to  the 
survey,  at  Norris’  Gap,  about  four  miles  from  the  crossing 
of  the  Coosa  River,  there  is  a well  exposed  ridge  of  Knox 
dolomite,  which  is  fit  for  both  building  stones  and  for  furn- 
ace use,  when  the  adjacent  iron  ores,  described  on  page 
33,  come  to  be  used 

Limestone  in  the  Talladega  Valley,  This  stone  is 
dolomite  or  magnesian  limetone-that  is  a double  carbonate 
of  lime  and  magnesia;  consisting,  when  pure,  of  calcium  car- 
bonate 54.35,  and  magnasium  carbonate  45.65  per  cent. 
However,  the  lime  often  predominates,  and  the  roc-k  is  apt 
to  contain. impurities  Pure  magnesian  limestone  is  as  suit- 
able for  fluxing  iron  ores  as  the  simple  limestones. 


48 


The  Talladega  limestone  belongs  to  the  Knox  series,  the 
same  as  the  limestones  at  Leeds  and  west  of  the  Coosa  Riv- 
er. The  quality  of  the  stone  at  Talladega  is  shown  by  the 
analysis  furnished  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  the  Superintendant  of 
the  Talladega  Iron  and  Steel  Company’s  furnace. 


Sample  I. 

Sample  II 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  lime 

65.00 

52.10 

Carbonate  of  'magnesia 

32.60 

46.21 

Silica. 

2.40 

0.38 

Alumina  and  iron  oxide 

— 

1.20 

This  is  a good  fluxing  stone,  as  the  silica  is  in  small  pro- 
portions, and  the  other  impurities  are  not  worth  consider- 
ing. There  is  an  abundance  of  limestone  in  the  valley,  and 
this  is  the  stone  used  at  the  Talladega  furnace.  It  is  also  a 
good  building  stone  of  a bluish  color  and  of  fine  texture. 
Except  the  marbles  along  the  southeastern  side  of  the 
great  valley,  of  which  Talladega  is  a part,  there  are  no  lime- 
stones anywhere  to  the  eastward  along  the  Macon  and  Birm- 
ingham Railway. 

The  Maeeles.  Upon  the  southeastern  side  of  the  valley, 
approaching  to  within  about  four  miles  of  Talladega,  there 
is  a thick  deposit  of  marble  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  semi- 
metaphoric  rocks  of  the  O.coee  series,  before  described,  By 
boring, this  deposit  is  known  to  be  over  a hundred  feet  thick. 
In  some  places,  a considerable  portion  lies  below  the  drain- 
age level  of  the  valley.  The  belt  of  marble  extends  for 
long  distances  on  both  sides  of  the  survey. 

In  some  places,  the  marbles  are  of  the  most  beautiful 
white  varieties,  of  finegrained  texture;  in  other  places  blue; 
again  they  are  banded.  Some  of  the  marbles  are  compact 
without  any  grain  apparent  to  the  eye.  The  best  marble 
seen  for  sculpture  or  for  fine  work  is  that  at  Syllacauga.  At 
Bowie’s  quarry,  a few  miles  south  of  the  survey,  there  have 


49 


been  the  most  extensive  workings.  Here  we  find  some 
marble  of  good  quality.  The  surface  is  everywhere  worn 
into  more  or  less  irregular  forms.  Some  of  the  varieties 
are  only  fit  for  lime.  But  this  is  a condition  in  every  mar- 
ble deposit.  The  very  finest  quality,  has  everywhere  to 
be  assorted  from  great  masses.  At  the  Carrara  quarries,  the 

celebrated  place  for  the  Italian  stone, there  are  only  about  500 
tons  a year  of  statuary  marble  obtained  out  of  the  product 
of  the  labor  of  3,000  men,  the  vast,  proportion  being  com- 
mon marble.  Prof.  C.  IT.  Hitchcock  has  identified  this 
Alabama  marble  as  being  of  the  same  geological  position  as 
the  Vermont  marble.  With  the  indifferent  marble  being  used 
in  the  furnaces  as  a flux,  or  in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  and 
there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  quantity, and  a large  marble 
trade  ought  to  spring  up.  The  composition  of  the  marble 
at  Bowie’s  quarry,  which  is  being  largely  used  for  flux,  at 
Anniston,  was  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Lancaster: 

Carbonate  of  lime  98.72  per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  0.56  “ “ 

Silica  0.50 

At  Herd’s  upper  quarry,  Prof.  Tuomy  found. 

Carbonate  of  lime  99.47  per  cent. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  0.3S  “ “ 

Silica  trace. 

According  to  these  analyses,  we  see  that  for  fluxing  and 
for  lime  these  marbles  are  unsurpassed. 

Limes.  Exclusive  of  cements,  there  are  two  kinds  of 
lime  used — those  that  are  made  from  pure  limestones,  and 
those  from  magnesian  limestones.  In  either  ease,  the  freer 
from  earthy  matter  the  better  is  the  product.  That  made 
from  limestone  swells  up  upon  being  slackened  to  a much 
greater  bulk  tkanthat  from  magn  esian  limestone,  and  among 
masons  is’called  “fat  lime’’  to  distinguish  it  from  that  contain- 
ing magnesia  which  does  not  swell  so  much.  The  magnes- 


50 


ian  lime  is  however  somewhat  stronger,  and  when  made 
with  a wood  fire  has  more  or  less  hydraulic  properties.  But 
masons  prefer  the  fat  lime  as  a general  rule.  In  the  Talla- 
dega valley,  there  must  spring,  up  a large  lime  business,  not 
merely  to  supply  the  demand  along  the  line  of  the  Macon 
and  Birmingham  Railway,  hut  a large  district  in  eastern 
Georgia,  if  not  indeed  in  adjacent  States.  Here,  near  Talla- 
dega, there  is  an  abundance  of  both  kinds  of  limestone  of 
fine  quality.  The  marbles  and  limestones  for  building  pur- 
poses must  also  find  their  way  over  the  line  to  the  east.  For 
all  furnaces  built  to  the  east  of  Blue  Mountain,  and  in  Clay 
County,  the  fluxing  stone  must  be  obtained  from  the  mar- 
bles or  limestones  just  described,  oceuring  eastward  of  Tal- 
ladega, or  at  Taylor’s  mills. 

I) — NOTES  ON  IRON  MANUFACTURE. 

The  success  of  the  Birmingham  iron  is  seen  by  the  fact 
of  the  steady  increase  of  the  iron  industry  until  there  are 
now  over  twenty  furnaces  in  the  district,  and  with  those  in 
construction,  there  will  soon  be  over  twenty -five  in  operation. 
The  capacity  of  twenty-five  of  them  is  given  by  Messrs 
Riccio,  Sloan  and  Yedeler,  at  2570  tons  a day.  Making 
ample  allowance  for  furnaces  undergoing  repairs,  the 
annual  capacity  for  1S90  will  be  over  800,000  tons,  much  of 
which  is  of  a high  grade  of  gray  iron.  Only  a comparatively 
small  proportion  of  the  iron  is  consumed  in  the  district, 
and  most  of  it  finds  its  way  over  long  railway  hauls.  But 
as  shown  from  the  quantity  of  the  ore  and  coal  in  the 
district,  there  is  still  room  for  many  more  furnaces.  The 
demand  is  also  increasing  with  the  disappearance  of  the 
groundless  prejudice  in  the  North  against  the  Southern 
iron,  as  it  can  be  made  more  cheaply  than  the  products  of 
the  North,  for  the  same  quality  of  metal.  Already,  vast 
quantities  are  now  competing  with  the  Northern  non  in 
the  New  York  and  other  markets.  The  cheapest  trails- 


51 


portation  is  to  convey  the  iron  to  Savannah  by  rail  and 
thence  by  sea; ‘and  every  facility  offered  to  reduce  the  cost 
will  add  to  the  development  of  the  industry.  The  freight 
from  the  furnaces  at  the  present  time  is  less  than*  $1,00 — 
($3,85)  per  ton  to  Yew  York.  With  the  completion  of  the 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway,  which  will  be  the 
shortest  road  and$ceasiest  grade,  the  advantages  in  trans- 
portation will  be  correspondingly  great. 

The  cost  of  the  iron  varies  with  each  furnace,  but  it  can 
be  approximately  seen  in  the  following  figures: 


2 tons  of  soft  ore  at  $1.25  per  ton  $2.50 

1 i tons  of  coke  at  $2.25  ” ” $3.37 

f ton  of  limestone  at  0.61^  c.  ” $0.13 

furnace  labor  and  fixed  charges  ” $1.50 


Cost  of  pig  iron  “ $7.S0 


In  many  cases,  the  amount  of  limestone  is  equal  to  the 
weight  of  metal  produced,  which  will  somewhat  increase 
the  cost.  On  the  other  hand,  the  cost  of  coke  may  fall 
below  the  price  given.  The  price  of  the  ore  given  is  that 
of  the  best  soft  red  variety  delivered  at  furnaces,  which 
buy  their  supplies.  The  price  of  the  harder  ores  falls  to 
$1.00,  or  sometimes  less,  per  ton,  but  they  are  not  so  rich  in 
the  metal.  For  those  furnaces  which  own  ores,  there  is  a 
heavy  reduction  in  the  price.  Further  reduction  in  the 
cost  may  be  effected  in  the  economic  handling  at  the  fur- 
naces. Thus  Col.  Fred.  Sloss,  Jr.  informs  me  that  under  the 
old  management  of  their  furuace,  they  were  able  to  produce 
highly  graphitic  pig  iron,  with  the  silicon  down  to  2 per- 
cent, by  the  use  of  2,800  pounds  of  coke  carrying  15  per- 
cent of  ash. 

As  to  the  cost  of  obtaining  the  ore,  it  varies  greatly  from 
that  in  open  pits  where  it  is  only  quarried,  a ta  price  but  little 
more  than  that  of  limestone, to  more  costly  underground  min- 


ill  o'.  In  one  of  the  SlossCo’s  mines  where  the  seam  is  four  feet 
thick,  hut  where  there  is  a large  quantity  of  superfluous  ma- 
terial to  be  moved,  the  cost  at  the  mouth  of  the  mine  is  about 
forty  cents  a ton,  exclusive  of  fixed  charges.  To  this  must 
he  added,  the  freight  which  alone  may  reach  25  cents  a ton. 
In  such  a favored  locality  as  at  Gate  City,  where  the  ore 
and  limestone  could  be  handled  so  as  not  to  pass  over  the 
railways,  the  cost  of  the  pig  metal  could  doubtless  be  re- 
duced to  nearly  a dollar  below  the  above  approximate  price. 

Most  of  the  Iron  Manufactures  prefer  to  use  a small  pro- 
portions of  brown  ore  along  with  the  red,  as  it  makes  the 
furnaces  work  easier,  and  causes  a relatively  larger  amount 
of  metal  to  pass  through  the  furnaces  in  a day,  than  when 
only  red  ores  are  used  alone.  The  price  of  the  brown  ores 
varies  from  $1.75  to  $2.25  per  ton,  as  they  have  to  be  trans- 
ported farther  than  the  red  ores,  but  they  usually  carry  a 
large  per  centage  of  iron. 

The  average  quantity  of  phosphorus  in  the  pig  iron  is  f of 
of  one  per  cent,  and  when  it  is  in  access  of  this  amount,  it 
comes  from  the  use  of  brown  ores  rich  in  this  substance. 
(Brainard) 

Furnaces  east  of  Birmingham,  along  the  line  of  the 
Survey. 

It  is  probable  that  a furnace  wfill  be  located  near  Leeds  to 
use  the  ore  described  on  page  34. 

Another  furnace  may  be  located  just  west  of  the  Coosa 
River  to  use  the  ores  described  on  page. 

At  Talladega,  one  furnace  capable  of  yielding  about 
35,000  tons  a year  has  just  gone  into  blast.  The  same  company 
propose  to  erect  another  furnace,  and  establishments  for  the 
manufacture  of  their  products.  This  is  a coke  furnace,  bring- 
ing its  coke  from  the  Birmingham  district,  which  by  our 
Railroad  will  be  much  shorter  than  the  by  other  roads.  This 


53 


will  he  equal  to  a carriage  of  about  50,000  tons  of  coke  alone 
for  one  furnace,  besides  the  transportation  of  the  product. 
The  cost  of  this  iron  is  expected  to  be: 


2 tons  of  ore  at  1.25 

$2.50 

1^  tons  of  coke  at  $3.15 

$3.9-1 

1-5  ton  of  limestone 

$0.10 

Fixed  charges' — if  as  at  Birmingham 

$1.50 

$8.01 

The  smaller  quantity  of  silica  in  the  ore,  and  consequent- 
ly the  smaller  amount  of  limestone  used  reduces  the  amount 
of  coke,  when  compared  with  the  Red  Mountain  iron.  But 
as  the  company  ownes  its  own  ores,  a further  reduction  of 
nearly  a dollar  a ton  ought  to  be  effected.  This  iron  is  of 
excellent  quality  and  fit  for  fine  Bessimer  steel,  containing 
only  0.062  per  cent  of  phosphorus,  and  2.30  per  cent  of  sil- 
icon (J.  F.  Barnett,  chemist)  in  ISTo.  1 grey  iron  .Whilst  the 
Birmingham  irons  are  good  for  foundry  purposes,  and  from 
them  good  bar  or  malleable  iron  is  made,  they  do  not  make 
Bessimer  steel.  However,  with  the  use  of  the  Henderson 
process  for  the  removal  of  the  phosphorus,  good  steel  rails 
may  yet  be  made  at  Birmingham.  The  theoretical  limit 
of  phosphorus  in  the  iron  for  the  manufacture  of  rails  by 
the  Bessimer  process  is  0.12  per  cent  although,  many  rails 
contain  more.  The  Talladega  iron  contains  phosphorus  to 
only  half  the  limit  allowed  in  Bessimer  steel. 

From  the  quantity  of  ore  in  the  Talladega  velley,  there  is 
room  for  several  furnaces  along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and 
Birmingham  Railway.  And  there  seems  no  reason  why 
Bessimer  rails  should  not  be  made  at  Talladega. 

Charcoal  Furnaces  at  Ieonaton. 

From  Talladega  northeastward,  as  far  as  Anniston,  I 
have  examined  numerous  brown  ore  beds.  At  Ironaton, 

six  or  eight  miles  northeast  of  our  survey,  there  is  the 

* 


5 4 


Clifton  Furnace.  The  same  company  is  now  erecting 
another  furnace.  These  are  charcoal  furnaces.  The 
product  of  the  one,  long  in  operation,  amounts  to  12,000 
tons  a year.  The  capacity  of  that  in  construction  is  18,000 
tons.  The  product  is  entirely  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
car-wheels.  As  to  the  cost  of  the  iron,  Mr.  Noble  sen.  is 
said  to  have  stated  that  his  company  produced  this  iron  at 
$11.00  a ton.  It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  exact  costs  from 
the  information  obtainable  from  the  company,  for  their 
advantages  are  company  secrets.  All  of  the  ore  is  washed, 
at  the  eoTnpany’s  mines,  and  this  is  the  cheapest  method. 
But  when  the  ore  is  delivered  by  contractor’s  it  is  worth 
$0.80  a ton.  The  ore  is  roasted,  the  cost  of  which,  although 
cheaply  done,  I do  not  know.  It  is  said  that  it  takes  115 
bushels  of  charcoal  worth  about  6 cents  a bushel  to  make 
each  ton  of  iron.  The  limestone  is  brought  from  Gadsden, 
some  distance  towards  the  north,  and  the  cost  may  reach 
thirty  cents  for  each  ton  of  iron  produced.  The  company 
stated  that  the  lowest  price  at  which  the  iron  has  been  sold 
is  $19.00  a ton,  for  there  had  been  no  cut  in  the  prices,  as 
there  that  had  been  in  those  of  the  coke-iron.  Mr.  Brain ard 
informed  me  that  'the  avarage  amount  of  phosporus  in  the 
charcoal  irons  of  Alabama  should  not  exceed  0.33  per  cent, 
although  sometimes  reaching  0.40  per  cent. 

At  Janiper,  eight  miles  farther  north,  also  on  the  Annis- 
ton and  Atlantic  Railway,  there  is  a charcoal  furnace  of  8,- 
0 )0  tons  capacity  per  annum, which  until  recently  belonged 
to  same  company  as  that  at  Ironaton.  At  Janiper,  there  is 
also  to  be  constructed  another!  furnace.  All  of  the  ore  is 
brought  by  rail  to  Janiper,  from  other  points  along  the  rail- 
way, as  the  amount  of  phosphorus  in  the  local  ores  is  saidto 
be  too  large  for  charcoal  iron. 

The  product  of  the  furnaces  at  both  Ironaton  and  Jani- 
per is  largely  carried  south,  crossing  our  survey  and  going- 
twenty  miles  farther,  and  is  there  transferred  to  the  Colum- 

« 


00 


bus  and  Western  for  shipment  by  a longer  route  to  the  sea. 
Besides  the  freight  on  the  iron  export,  there  is  an  import 
freight  of  over  $20,000  a year  (according  to  J.  S.  Mooring 
of  Ironaton,  who  kindly  furnished  me  with  -the  above  fig- 
nres). 

A little  farther  north,  in  the  same  valley,  at  Anniston, 
there  have  been  for  a long  time  in  operation  the  Woodstock 
furnaces,  also  making  charcoal  iron  for  car  wheels.  There 
are  two  furnaces,  with  a united  capacity  of  20,000  tons  a 
year.  The  Company  largely  work  their  own  ores,  but  those 
from  outside  are  worth  $1.20  a ton.  There  are  just  com- 
pleted two  other  large  furnaces,  which  will  have  a capacity 
of  70,000  tons  a , year.  This  will  require  abont  450  tons 
of  coke  a day  which  will  be  brought  from  the  Cahaba  basin. 

Even  at  Anniston,  with  the  Anniston  and  Atlantic  Bail- 
way a tributary,  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  will 
have  equal  advantage  in  the  carrying  of  freight,  with  the 
Georgia  Pacific  Railway,  to  the  sea-board.  Besides  the  fur- 
naces, there  are  now  a large  pipe-works  which  will  be  one 
ot  the  largest  foundries  of  this  kind  in  the  lighted  States. 
These  together  with  the  cotton  factory  and  other  manufae- 
tnries  make  the  tonnage  of  Anniston  swell  up  to  an  enorm- 
ous traffic. 

The  most  eastern  locality  for  a furnace  along  the 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  will  probably  be  east  of 
the  Blue  Mountain  or  in  Clay  County,  but  the  iron  ore  will 
not  likely  be  found  to  be  pure  enough  for  charcoal  iron,  yet 
the  coke  can  be  brought  from  the  Cahaba  coal  fields,  and 
the  limestone  from  the  region  of  Taylor’s  Mills. 

E— MANGANESE. 

# 

Closely  related  to  the  production  of  iron,  manganese  is 
of  importance;  namely  ,in  the  manufacture  of  spiegeleisen, 
which  is  extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of  Bessimer 
steel.  It  is  also  used  indirectly  in  the  manufacture  of 


56 


bleaching  powder.  It  is  a mineral  of  high  price.  In  many 
places  from  Virginia  to  Georgia  it  is  profitably  mined,  and 
the  same  rock  formations  continue  into  Alabama.  It  is 
reported  at  several  places,  but  I have  only  seen  it,  adjacent 
to  the  M.  and  I>.  R.,  on  the  property  of  Mr.  Jasper  Williams, 
about  five  miles  northwest  of  Iiillabee.  It  occurs  associated 
along  with  decayed  gneissoid  rocks,  but  in  hardly  sufficient 
quantities  to  be  worked.  It  is  here  a compact  dark  bluish 
mineral,  and  of  good  quality.  Everywhere  it  occurs  in  a 
pocket  form,  and  may  yet  be  found  in  laige  quantities, 
along  our  road. 

1’ — GOLD. 

The  great  gold  belt  of  Georgia  passes  in  a southwestward 
direction  into  Alabama,  and  in  the  vacinity  of  the  Macon 
and  Birmingham  Railway,  it  is  broken  up  into  three  zones, 
several  miles  apart,  and  in  different*  kinds  of  rocks.  Since 
the  first  excitement,  about  1836,  there  have  been  various 
periods  of  activity  down  to  the  present  time.  The  most 
eastern  of  these  zones,  approached,  is  that  about  Goldville, 
now  only  a post  office,  with  a few  old  buildings.  During 
the  height  of  the  gold  fever,  it  was  a village  boasting  of 
seven  saloons,  and  that  here  upon  certain  days  as  many  as  a' 
thousand  men,  engaged  or  enterested  in  mining  .were  some- 
times congregated.  To  the  south  and  west  of  this  village 
there  were  a number  of  workings,  at  some  of  which,  such 
as  at  the  old  Log  Cabin  mine  a considerable  quantity  of  gold, 
paying  handsomely,  was  obtained.  I visited  the  ITog  Moun- 
tain mine,  which  has  been  worked  during  the  present  year. 
Here,  there  is  an  opening  on  a quartz  vein  to  a depth  of 
twenty  or  thirty  feet.  The  vein  is  from  four  to  tgn  feet 
wide  traversing  a very  rotten  micaceous  rock — probably  a 
mica  schist.  The  vein  has  also  been  worked  underground 
by  means  of  a adit  in  the  hill-side.  If  this  gold  bearing  rock 
is  not  in  the  Huronian  system  of  geology,  it  is  near  the  wes- 


tern  margin  of  tlie  Laurentian  system,  for  just  northwest- 
ward of  this  locality  there  are  some  hydromica  schists,  typi- 
cal of  what  may  be, provisionally  regarded  as  the  Huronian 
system  of  the  south.  In  the  region  of  the  gold  mine,  all  of 
the  rocks  are  thoroughly  decayed  to  a great  depth.  At  this 
mine  there  are  two  batteries  of  modern  stamps,  and  a suffi- 
cent  quantity  of  water,  for  the  gold-bearing  quartz  is  crush- 
ed in  presence  of  running  water,  which  carries  the  gold  in 
contact  with  the  analygamating  plates. 

The  second  belt  crosses  the  survey  a few  miles  west  of 
Hillabee.  One  of  the  mines  in  this  belt  is  the  ITarall,  (on 
section  3d,  T.  20,  R.  A" I E.).  There  are  two  mines  in 
operation  this  year  adjacent  to  Enitachopco  post  office, 
That  of  Mr.  Harallson  has  only  recently  been  re'-opened, 
with  use  of  modern  stamps.  It  is  in  decayed  gneiss,  and  the 
vein  is  also  of  decayed  rock  about  six  feet  wide.  It  con- 
tains from  three  to  four  dollar  worth  of  gold  per  ton.  It 
is  stamped  with  water  and  the  gold  amalgamated  in  the 
usual  way.  The  gold  can  be  extracted  at  a profit  when  the 
rock  contains  even  less  than  a dollar’s  worth,  of  the  metal  in 
a ton  of  rock.  Mr.  Harallson  informs  me  that  the  whole 
mass  of  the  decayed  rock  could  probably  be  worked  as  a 
placer  mine  if  the  water  were  at  hand,  and  that  with  some 
outlay  it  could  be  obtained.  With  a sufficient  amount  of 
capital  invested,  it  appears  as  if  this  ought  to  be  a good 
property,  when  it  is  a paying  investment  upon  the  small 
scale.  ♦ 

A mile  or  two  away  from  the  Harallson  mine  is  the 
Sliinker  mine.  The  foreman  informed  me  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  weight  the  gold  and  that  the  product  ranged  from 
three  pounds  of  gold  to  over  seven  per  week.  The 
cash  receipts  had  reached  over  $1400,  as  the  result  of  the 
labor  of  twelve  men  for  eight  days  each.  These  mines  are 
situated  in  or  near  the  borders  of  the  Laurentian  and  Iluron- 
ian  systems,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Goldville  mines.  It  seems 


58 


that  in  this  region  we  have  a field  of  profitable  gold  mining,  if 
modern  methods  are  adopted.  Of  the  numerous  mines 
which  were  opened  up  years  ago.  no  doubt  the  failure  of 
a portion  of  them  was  due  to  the  lack  of  water  and  to  the 
older  and  more  primitive  methods  of  working.  There  were 
places  where  men  were  able  to  make  wages  by 
crush ing  the  rock  in  mortars  and  washing;  out  the  gold  in 
pans.  Another  cause  of  the  failure  of  some  of  the 
old  workings  was  the  presence  of  pyrites  which  prevented 
the  amalgamation  of  the  gold. 

The  third  belt  of  gold  bearing  rocks  is  on  the  western 
• side  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  in  a belt  between  Biddle’s 
Mills  and  Taylor’s  Mills.  The  gold  occurs  in  quartz  veins 
traversing  the  hydromica  schists  of  the  Ocoee  series,  before 
described,  and  consequently  belonging  to  rocks  of  consider- 
ably younger  period  than  those  deposits  in  the  more  eastern 
belts.  There  were  three  principal  mines  in  this  belt.  The 
Storry  Mines  (sec.  17,  T.  19,  B.  ArI  E.)  has  yielded  8100,000 
worth  of  gold,  one  company  having  made  a profit  of  about 
$16,000.  At  the  Bobb  mine,  (sec.  19,  T.  19,  B.  AM  Ed 
by  the  pan  and  mortar  process  men  have  made  from 
$2.50  to  $5,00  a day.  The  third  mine  in  this  belt  was  the 
Biddle,  (sec.  16,  T.  19,  B.  AM  E.)  Mone  of  these  mines 
have  been  worked  since  1887.  These  data  were  given  to 
me  by  Dr.  Wm.  Taylor,  of  Craigdale. 

There*  seem  to  be  good  reasons  for  believing  that  the  gold 
mining  will  revive  from  the  sporadic  attempts  that  have 
been  made,  since  the  crude  mining  of  the  earlier  days  of  the 
gold  fever.  And  whilst  the  rapid  fortunes  of  gold  seekers 
may  not  be  realized,  yet  an  important  industry  is  likely  to 
be  developed  at  future  times,  for  good  profits  have  been 
realized  in  many  of  the  regions  worked,  not  only  those  ad- 
jacent to  our  survey,  but  in  various  localities  throughout  the 
whole  great  gold  belt  in  Alabama  and  in  Georgia. 


59 


G— COPPER  AND  IRON  PYRITES. 

Copper  pyrites  is  a compound  of  sulphur,  iron  and  cop- 
per, and  is  of  a bronze  yellow  color.  When  pure  it  contains  34 
per  cent  of  copper.  Iron  pyrites  is  a compound  of  sulphur 
and  iron,  and  when  pure  contains  53  per  cent  of  sulphur. 
It  is  of  a bright  yellow  color.  These  mineral's  even  when 
tarnished  can  readily  be  distinguished  apart  by  their  hard- 
ness— the  copper  compound  not  scratching  glass,  whilst  the 
iron  scratches  it  easily. 

In  Clay  County  Ala.,  there  was  a copper  fever  in  the  ear- 
ly fifties.  Several  mines  were  opened  for  copper,  some  of 
which  proved  to  be  iron  pyrites.  Other  mines  were  opened 
in  iron  pyrites  with  which  was  mixed  some  copper  pyrites. 
One  of  the  copper  mines — that  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  ¥m. 
McGee  (Sec.  3,  T.  21,  R.  VI  Eh — I visited.  The  mineral 
was  mostly  pyrites  but  with  some  copper.  These  sulphides 
are  scattered  through  vessicular  quartz  of  six  or  eight  feet 
thickness,  but  that  rich  in  pyrites  is  about  three  feet  thick. 
The  vein  dips  at  angles  from  f> 0°  to  75°  For  copper  alone, 
it  is  not  worth  working,  but  for  the  sulphur  in  the  pyrites, 
it  may  yet  be  valuable. 

On  section  30,  T.  20,  R.  VII  E.,  there  was  another  mine 
opened  for  copper,  but  it  turned  out  to  be  only  pyrites. 
The  pyrites  occurs  also  upon  the  adjacent  property  of  Mr. 
Jasper  Williams  (about  six  miles  northwest  of  Hillabee). 
The  vein  or  bed  occurs  associated  with  decayed  gneissoid 
rocks.  As  the  pyrites  decomposes  so  easily,  the  surface 
rocks  do  not  show  the  extent  of  the  deposit.  This  zone  of 
pyrites  extends  into  Georgia,  where  the  beds  are  more  than 
fourteen  feet  thick.  At  the  surface,  the  pyrites  is  often 
converted  into  brown  or  red  hematite,  and  it  is  quite  possi- 
ble that  some  of  the  iron  ores  on  the  ridges  in  Clay  County 
will  be  found  to  pass  into  beds  of  purcj  pyrites,  as  they  do  in 
some  other  places  when  shafts  are  sunk  below  the  depth  of 


60 


decayed  rock.  The  value  of  pyrites  arrises  from  its  use  iu 
the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  which  is  so  largely  con- 
sumed  in  the  production  of  super-phosphates.  Whilst  a few 
percent  of  copper  alone  would  not  pay  for  the  extraction, 
yet  when  the  mineral  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  acid, 
the  residue  may  he  worth  something  for  the  contained  cop- 
per. 

At  the  present  time  pyrites  is  not  the  common  source  of 
sulphur  in  the  South,  as  special  furnaces  are  required.  The 
sulphuric  acid  is  made  from  imported  Sicilian  brimstone  or 
sulphur,  the  price  of  which  is  now  about  $25,00  a ton.  At 
Savannah,  Spanish  pyrites  is  imported  and  used  for  the 
acid  manufacture.  But  although  not  used  at  present,  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  our  pyrites  will  come  to  replace 
the  imported  sulphur  to  a greater  or  less  extent. 

H— GRAPHITE. 

Graphite,  plumbago  or  black  lead  is  a soft  mineral  of  a 
dark  leaden  or  blackish  color.  It  occurs  in  scales  with  a 
bright  shining  lustre,  or  in  masses  which  are  less  brilliant. 
It  is  a mineral  extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
crucibles  for  melting  metals  in,  for  polishing  iron,  in  mak- 
ing certain  lubricators;  it  is  also  used  in  electrotyping,  and 
is  largely  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  lead  pencils.  E- 
ven  the  scales  are  easily  recognized  by  their  softness, 
greasy  feel  and  soiling  paper  or  the  fingers  as  does  a lead 
pencil. 

Graphite  is  abuntantly  distributed  along  the  M.  & B. 
Railway.  It  occurs  as  bright  scales  in  decayed  gneiss,  where 
it  takes  the  place  of  the  mica.  Northwest  of  Hallibee 
I saw  several  beds  of  this  graphitic  gneiss.  On  section  20. 
T.  20,  R.  VII  E.,  a graphite  mine  has  been  recently 
opened.  The  bed  is  over  20  feet  thick,  and  dips  at  an  angle 
between  60°  and  75°  to  the  southeast.  The  rock  is  very 


61 


rotten  and  does  not  contain  over  five  or  six  per  cent  of  the 
mineral.  The  rock  is  crushed  in  presence  of  running 
water,  and  by  a system  of  separating  troughs,  the  light 
scales  arefloated  into  settling  basins, and  are  finally  separated 
from  the  stone  powder.  A fine  quality  of  graphite  is  here 
obtained.  Hence  this  graphite  vein  extends  southwestward, 
and  I have  seen  it  at  several  places.  On  the  property  of 
Mr.  Jasper  Williams, the  bed  appears  somewhat  richer,  and 
has  a thickness  of  about  75  feet.  Graphite  is  also  found 
southwest  of  Hillabee;  near  Louina,  on  the  Tallapoosa 
River  ; and  elsewhere,  but  some  of  the  samples  are  more 
massive  than  those  described,  and  although  richer  in  the 
mineral,  they  would  probably  yield  an  inferior  quality- 
With  the  opening  up  of  railway  facilties,  the  graphite 
promises  to  be  an  important  industry.  The  value  in  Hew 
York  is  about  $20.00  a ton,  but  much  higher  for  that 
fine  enough  for  the  manufacture  of  pencils. 


1— BARYTES,  ASBESTOS.  MICA,  CORUNDUM,  AND  TIN. 

Barytes  or  Sulphate  of  Barium. 

This  is  a mineral  commonly  white,  and  softer  than  mar- 
ble, which  it  somewhat  resembles,  but  it  is  a very  heavy 
mineral,  hence  its  name  of  Heavy  Spar.  When  of  a white 
color,  it  is  extensively  used  for  mixing,  with  white  lead  in 
making  paint.  In  fact,  very  little  white  paint  is  now  made 
which  does  not  contain  more  or  less  barytes.  The  principal 
localities,  which  I visited  were  about  three  miles  south  of 
Leeds,  occurring  in  limestones  of  the  Knox  series.  On 
section  31  T.  17,  R.  I E.,  there  is  a bed  about  five  feet  wide. 
Hpon  an  ad  jacent  ridge  there  is  another  deposit,  and  still 
others  are  reported.  Much  of  the  mineral  is  white  or  blu- 
ish white,  and  would  make  a fine  white  powder.  The 
quantity  appears  to  be  sufficient  for  working.  Barytes  was 


originally  used  for  adulterating  the  lead.  When  simply 
ground,  it  appears  to  he  of  no  service  to  the  paint,  but  a 
manufacturer  informed  me  that,  when  by  flotation  process 
the  powder  could  he  rendered  fine  enough,  there  are  advant- 
ages in  its  use.  At  any  rate  the  demand  is  considerable. 

Asbestos  or  Mineral  Wool. 

This  mineral  is  used  largely  in  the  manufacture  of  fire- 
proof safes,  fire-proof  roofing,  packing  for  steam  pipes  etc. 
It  is  reported  as  occurring  Alabama,  but  I have  seen  none 
along  the  line  of  our  survey. 

Mica. 

Whilst  mica  is  a common  constituent  of  many  of  the  rocks 
passed  over,  yet  its  occurence  in  sheets  large  enough  for  use 
is  more  rare.  Mica  is  reported  to  have  been  found  some 
three  miles  northeast  of  Porter’s  Gap.  I did  not  find  the 
locality,  but  several  men  had  seen  large  sheets  that  had  been 
obtained  there. 

Corundum. 

This  mineral  is  extensively  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
grinding-wlieels  and  powder,  etc.  The  less  pure  variety, 
of  a dark  color,  is  known  as  emery.  West  of  the  Tallapoo- 
sa River,  I picked  up  some  specimens  in  the  field,  but 
did  not  find  the  position  of  the  beds. 

Tin. 

Tin  ore  is  reported  as  occurring  near  Ashland.  But  I 
did  not  visit  the  locality. 

J— GRANITE. 


Granite  is  composed  of  quartz  feldspar  and  mica,  or 
hornblende.  The  constituents  vary  so  as  to  sometimes  give 


63 


the  rock  a fine  grained,  at  other  times  a coarse,  texture. 
There  are  several  localities  along  the  Macon  and  Birming- 
ham Railway  where  excellent  granites  occur. 

The  granite  deposits  usually  rise  up  as  more  or  less  rounded 
hummocks  through  decayed  gneisses.  These  hummocks  are 
sometimes  of  small  area,  but  again  they  are  of  some  acres  in 
extent.  The  value  of  these  deposits  depends  upon  the  absence 
of  earth  covering,  and  upon  the  soundness  of  the  surface  of 
the  rock.  However,  in  all  cases  the  quality  of  the  rock  will 
improve  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  quarries. 

The  localities  of  the  granites.  The  most  western 
locality  of  granite  is  a mile  or  two  west  of  the  Tallapoosa 
River,  adjacent  to  the  survey.  Here,  there  is  a chain  of 
granite  hummocks  trending  from  northeast  to  southwest. 
The  quantity  is  practically  unlimited.  It  forms  the  sur- 
faces of  low  ridges,  and  some  of  the  exposed  surfaces  are 
of  acres  extent.  It  is  a good  stone  of  a texture  somewhat 
coarser  than  that  of  Stone  Mountain,  Ga.  From  this 
locality,  the  supply  for  Birmingham  and  the  southwest 
would  be  most  naturally  derived.  At  the  time  of  my  last 
visit  to  Birmingham,  I found  the  streets  of  the  city  being 
paved  with  Stone  Mountain  granite.  This  latter  locality 
is  about  twice  the  distance  from  Birmingham  of  the  Tal- 
lapoosa granites,  which  last  are  somewhat  less  than  ahun- 
dred  miles  away.  This  stone  is  also  favorably  situated 
for  supplying  any  town  that  may  grow  up  about  the  cross- 
ing of  the  river,  as  at  Louina. 

Between  Roanoke  and  Rock  Mill,  there  are  again  hum- 
mocks of  good  granite,  as  also  near  the  mill. 

In  Georgia,  about  three  miles  east  of  Greenville,  there  is 
granite  fit  for  building.  The  rock,  which  I saw  west  of 
Greenville,  is  very  much  decayed  upon  the  surface.  At  two 
or  three  places  between  the  Greenville  and  Woodbury, 
there  are  granite  exposures.  Farther  eastward,  near  Warm 


64 


Springs,  there  are  mica  schists  breaking  up  into  good  flag- 
stones. 

At  Potato  Creek,  there  is  a very  fine  exposure  of  dark 
granite,  from  which  the  decayed  rock  has  been  washed  off, 
by  the  waters  of  the  river.  Exposed,  there  is  an  abundance 
of  good  rock  for  the  factories  that  may  be  built  here.  (See 
plate  of  the  rapids  beyond). 

East  of  Thomaston,  there  are  other  deposits  of  gran- 
ite. At  Toblers,  there  are  some  good  building  stones  at 
the  rapids;  and  also  along  Rocky  Creek,  a few  miles  west  of 
Macon,  there  was  seen  good  building  stone  exposed  in  limi- 
ted quantities. 

K— SANDSTONES  AND  FLAGS. 

For  building  purposes,  the  sandstones  along  the  line  of 
the  survey  are  mostly  confined  to  the  rocks  of  the  Carboni- 
ferous system,  and  except  in  the  Millstone  grit,  east  of  Leeds, 
they  are  not  easily  available,  as  they  are  all  dipping  at  con- 
siderable angles,  beneath  a thick  covering.  On  the  eastern 
side  of  Oak  Mountain,  as  near  the  tunnel  at  Thompson’s 
Gap,  there  are  some  fine  sandstones  in  smooth  thin  layers, 
which  would  make  excellent  flagstones  for  sidewalks.  It  is 
proposed  to  utilized  them  for  the  streets  of  Birmingham. 
They  are  also  fit  for  furnace  hearths. 

Just  east  of  Red  Mountain,  there  are  some  Lower  Carbon- 
iferous sandstones.  In  some  places,  these  are  so  friable  as  to 
crumble  between  the  fingers.  They  are  composed  of  the 
purest  quartz  sand.  This  is  the  sand  that  is  used  at  the 
Gate  City  Glass  Works.  It  is  also  crushed,  at  a nominal  ex- 
pense, and  used  largely  at  the  iron  furnaces  of  Birming- 
ham, and  for  mortar. 

Beneath  the  ore  beds  in  Red  Mountain,  belonging  to  the 
Clinton  series,  there  is  a very  beautiful  brown  sandstone. 
Where  the  streams  have  cut  into  the  mountain,  this  is  often 
laid  bare,  as  (at  Gate  City,  on  the  property  of  Messrs  Sloss. 


65 


L — SANDS,  GRAVELS  AND  CLAYS. 

Adjacent  to  the  creeks,  there  is  generally  enough  sand  for 
local  building  purposes,  hut  inferior  to  the  white  sand  from 
the  rock  at  Gate  City.  Again,  for  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
west  of  Macon  an  abundance  of  clean  sand  can  easily  be  ob- 
tained from  beds  belonging  to  the  Lower  Cretaceous  series. 
Small  round  gravel  is  abundant  on  some  of  the  hills 
about  Macon.  Again,  it  is  found  on  the  borders  of  the 
Chattahoochee  and  Tallapoosa  Rivers,  adjacent  to  Tallade- 
ga, and  on  the  hills  along  the  Coosa  River.  It  is  only  on 
some  of  the  hills  that  the  gravels  are  at  the  surface,  as  they 
are  apt  to  be  covered  with  red  loam.  The  deposits  vary  from 
one  to  rarely  eight  or  ten  feet  thick.  The  greatest  height 
at  which  I have  found  them  was  near  Talladega,  at  about 
685  feet  above  the  sea.  At  Gate  City,  there  is  some  angular 
chert  used  for  road  making.  All  these  localities  would 
furnish  good  ballast  for  the  Railway. 

Brick  clays  occur  in  the  alluvial  bottoms  along  the  streams, 
and  in  many  clay  hills.  Amongst,  the  best  brick  seen  were 
those  made  at  Leeds  and  at  the  Chamber’s  brick  yard  at 
Talladega.  Here,  at  Talladega  the  bricks  are  in  part  of 
buff  color  and  others  are  of  chocolate  color. 

Fire  clays  should  be  somewhat  silicious,  of  light  color, 
and  contain  very  little  iron,  lime  or  alkalis,  which  ren- 
ders them  fusible.  Immediately  beneath  beds  of  coal,  fire 
clay  is  commonly  found.  Amongst  the  brown  ore  depos- 
its, as  at  Anniston  and  near  Talladega,  there  are  “horses” 
of  white  clay  which  would  make  fine  fire  clay.  Mr.  Cham- 
bers of  Talladega  has  had  such  clay  tested  for  white  earth- 
enware manufacture,  with  farely  good  results.  Above  the 
sandstones  near  Thomson’s  Gap,  there  is  some  tire  clay. 
Hear  Taylor’s  Mills,  in  the  ‘Talladega  valley  there  is  fire 
clay.  These  are  some  of  the  places  where  I have  seen  fire 
clays  along  the  survey. 


66 


M— ROOFING  SLATES. 

On  the  northwestern  side  of  the  metamorpliic  rocks,  there 
are  several  places,  where  highly  fissile  slates  occur,  which 
would  make  admirable  roofing  and  other  slates, as  near  Tien- 
dalia,  and  south  of  Sycamore.  Also  on  section  23,  T.  21. 
R.  VI  E.,  in  Cla}^  County,  there  is  good  slate.  These  are 
of  the  hydromic  type. 


67 


III— FOREST  TREES. 

Along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway 
survey,  the  most  valuable  trees  are  the  pines  and  the  oaks, 
and  of  these  trees  there  is  an  abundance.  For  timber,  the 
pines  are  at  present  the  most  valuable,  and  must  of  necessity 
furnish  a great  amount  of  freight. 

The  Pines.  The  chief  varieties  are  the  long-leaf,  the 
short  leaf,  and  the  old  field  pine.  The  long-leaf  pine  is  of 
great  value,  for  it  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  durable 
of  timbers.  It  furnishes  the  resin,  turpentine, 
tar  and  pitch  of  commerce.  The  heart  wood  predominates 
in  this  tree. 

The  short-leaf  pine  has  a large  proportion  of  sap  wood, 
but  makes  good  lumber.  The  old  field  pine  is  largely  com- 
posed .of  sap  wood,  but  is  valuable  for  inside  work.  The 
value  of  all  these  pines  is  on  the  increase. 

Along  the  line  of  the  survey,  there  is  suffiicient  old  field 
pine,  with  some  short  leaf  pine, for  local  use.  Only  here  and 
there,  is  a long-leaf  pine  to  be  seen  in  this  part  of  Georgia. 
But  after  crossing  the  State  Line,  and  on  nearing  the  Talla- 
poosa River,  the  long  leaf  pine  is  met  with,  especially  a few 
miles  beyond  the  western  side  of  the  river.  A great  zone 
of  pines  composed  of  narrow  belts  trending  northeast  and 
southwestward,  occupy  more  or  less  of  the  country  be- 
tween Hillabee  and  Taylor's  Mills  (east  of  Talladega).  This 
zone  is  about  twenty  miles  wide,  and  contains  several  belts 
of  pines,  varying  in  width  from  one  to  three  miles.  Here 
we  find  the  long-leaf  pine  predominating,  but  there  are  some 
belts  of  short-leaf  pine.  These  pines  are  mostly  upon  ridg- 
es covered  with  loose  cherty  stones  or  upon  shaly  rocks 
only  thinly  covered  with  light  soil.  The  next  pine  belt  of 
note  is  albng  the  Coosa  River.  It  is  most  largely  develop- 
ed upon  the  western  side,  and  is  made  up  of  several  subor- 
dinate belts.  This  zone  of  pine,  in  interrupted  belts,  extends 


68 


to  tlie  ridges  east  of  Leeds.  Some  of  the  Coosa  valley  pines 
are  amongst  the  finest  timber  trees  in  Alabama. 

In  many  places,  the  pines  have  interspersed  with  the 
various  varieties  of  oaks.  The  timber  along  the  line  of  the 
survey  is  mostly  in  its  primitive  condition,  as  far  as  the 
pine  ridges  are  concerned,  but  a small  proportion  has 
been  removed  for  local  use.  Still,  where  the  pines  have 
grown  upon  the  more  arable  hillsides,  they  have  been  clear- 
ed in  order  that  the  land  may  be  cultivated;  and  in  many 
places  I saw  large  fields  of  dead  trees,  which  had 
been  killed  prior  to  their  clearing  of  the  land — the  pines  be- 
ing useless,  as  there  is  now  no  means  of  shipping  the  lumber. 

Oaks.  Oaks  form  the  commonest  trees  along  the  whole 
line  of  the  survey.  Of  these,  the  most  abundant  are  the 
black,  red,  Spanish,  black  Jack,  post,  white,  and  on  certain 
ridges  the  chestnut  or  mountain  oak.  In  some  localities, 
the  trees  are  of  large  size,  in  others  the  smaller  trees  pre- 
vail. Apart  from  the  abundant  supply  of  timber  for  the 
local  use,  and  for  railway  ties,  etc.,  the  most  important  con- 
sideration here  is  tan  bark  available  for  shipment.  The  red 
and  black  oaks  furnish  the  ordinary  tan  bark,  but  the  c-kes- 
nut  or  mountain  oak  is  that  which  is  used  in  the  so-called 
rwhite  oak — tanned  leather.  The  mountain  oak  has  an 
extra-ordinarily  thick  bark, so  that  a very  large  per  centage  of 
the  tree  can  be  thus  used.  The  quantity  obtainable  for  the 
labor  expended,  and  the  high  price  per  cord  will  be  sulfieent 
inducement  for  the  land  owners,  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  the  trees,  to  develope  the  tan  bark  industry,  especially 
that  of  the  mountain  oak  bark.  The  mountain  oak  is  prin- 
cipally found  on  the  ridges  adjacent  to  the  Tallapoosa,  and 
on  various  ridges  about  Hillabee  and  westward.  It  also  oc- 
curs on  some  of  the  ridges  west  of  the  Coosa  River.  The 
quantity  is  sufficient  for  a comsiderable  trade. 

Hickory  and  other  useful  timber  trees  are  seen  in  smaller 
quantities  than  the  oaks  and  pines. 


69 


IV —SOILS 

The  soils  are  as  varied  as  tlie  geological  formations  from 
which  they  are  derived.  Along  the  first  few  miles  of  the 
survey,  there  are  loamy,  gravelly  and  especially  sandy  soils, 
derived  from  the  Southern  Drift  and  from  the  Cretaceous 
formation.  Thence,  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Talladega 
valley,  the  soils  are  derived  from  metamorphic  rocks.  West 
ward  of  this  region,  the  soils  are  the  results  of  the  decom- 
position of  the  various  formations  of  Palaeozoic  group.  Thus 
we  see  that  about  three-fourths  of  the  length  of  the  railway 
passes  over  land  derived  from  metamorphic  rocks,  but  the 
soils  throughout  this  region  vary  from  good  to  bad. 

The  purpose  of  this  part  of  the  report  is  to  give  informa- 
tion concerning  the  soils,  in  order  to  call  attention  to  what 
extent  the  country  is  adapted  for  further  development,  and 
to  aid  those  people  who  wish  to  find  homes  in  the  country 
along  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway. 

When  the  minerals  necessary  for  the  production  of  plant 
food  are  not  present,  then  the  natural  soils  must  of  necessi- 
ty be  poor.  Chemical  analyses  will  show  such  an  absence. 
But  it  sometimes  happens  that  analyses  show  an  abundance 
of  all  necessary  constituents,  yet  the  soil  is  poor.  This  con- 
dition arises  from  the  minerals  required  for  food  not  being 
in  such  forms  as  plants  can  absorb.  Still,  with  time  and  furth- 
er decay  of  the  rock-dust,  the  productiveness  of  the  land  in- 
creases. The  non-productiveness  often  arises  from  the 
absence  of  only  one  or  two  constituents,  and  when  these  are 
artificially  supplied,  good  crops  are  obtained.  The  sub- 
stances which  most  affect  the  fertility  of  the  soil  are  lime, 
potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  The  other  ingredients  of  plant 
food  are  apt  to  be  present,  if  these  are  in  sufficient  quanti- 


70 


ties.  In  order  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  soil  from  the 
chemical  analyses,  Prof.  Hillgard  does  not  determine  the 
absolute  amount  of  the  materials  which  afford  plant  food, 
but  only  that  portion  which  is  soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid, 
as  those  portions  which  are  not  thus  soluble  are  not  likely 
to  furnish  nourishment  for  years  to  come.  From  observa- 
tion, he  has  found  that  the  minimum  cpiantity,  obtainable 
by  solution,  in  productive  soils  cannot  fall  below: — of  lime 
0.10  per  cent,  for  light  sandy  land,  and  0.25  for  clay  loam, 
and  double  that  amount  for  heavy  clay  soil;  of  potash.  Q.06 
per  cent  in  virgin  soils;  of  phosphoric  acid,  0.05  per  cent, 
and  double  this  amount  in  sandy  lands  will  then  hold  up  the 
soil  for  only  from  eight  to  fifteen  years. 

Compared  with  the  chemical  composition  of  the  soil,  the 
productiveness  of  land  depends  equally  upon  the  physical 
conditions,  such  as  its  porosity,  capability  of  retaining 
moisture,  slope  of  the  country,  climate  etc.  As  the  climate 
is  excellent,  it  need  not  be  considered;  but  all  the  other 
conditions  are  constantly  varying. 

ARCHAEAN  SOILS. 

These  extend  from  near  Macon  to  the  eastern  portion  of 
Talladega  County,  Alabama.  Just  beyond  that  line,  for  a 
few  miles,  there  is  a belt  of  metamorphic  Lower  Paleozoic 
rocks,  which  will  be  treated  along  with  the  metamorphic 
Archaean  group.  It  is  from  the  decay  of  the  surface  rocks 
that  the  soils  are  formed.  This  decay  sometimes  reaches 
down  to  only  a few  inches,  but  again  the  stone  are  so  rotten 
that  wells  can  be  dug  to  a depth  of  sixty  feet  or  more,  by 
the  use  of  the  pick  and  shovel  in  the  rocks,  which  were 
once  hard  gneisses,  When  these  Archaean  lands  are  prop- 
erly cultivated,  some  of  them  form  the  best  agricultural 
counties  from  Pennsylvania  to  Alabama.  Still  the  quality 
is  variable,  dependent  upon  the  source  from  which  they  were 


71 


derived.  The  most  common  materials  which  have  produced 
the  soils  are  ordinary  gneiss, (and  sometimes  granite), where- 
in the  mica  is  muscovite;  biotite  gneiss,  wherein  the  mica  is 
biotite;  and  hornblende  gneiss,  in  which  case  the  mica  is 
wlioly  or  mostly  replaced  by  hornblende;  mica  schist;  and 
hydromica  and  clay  slates. 

The  farmers  distinguish  the  soils  of  the  met  amorphic  re- 
gion into  red  and  gray  lands.  The  former  are  derived  from 
the  decay  of  horf|p)lendie  gneiss  and  have  a dark  brown  or 
red  color.  Occasionally  the  red  land  arises  from  the  de- 
composition of  other  iron  bearing  schists.  The  gray  lands 
arise  from  the  disintegration  of  gneisses  or  granites  contain- 
ing  common  mica,  and  of  mica  schists.  There  are  both  good 
and  poor  lands  of  each  kind. 

The  Gkay  Lands.  When  these  are  derived  from  gneiss- 
es, which  are  rich  in  fieldspar,  the  land  is  apt  to  be  fertile. 
But  the  difiierent  varieties  of  gneiss  contain  variable  pro- 
portions of  fieldspar,  which  ingredient  may  so  diminish,  that 
it  may  pass  into  mica  schists,  composed  of  quartz  and 
mica.  Thus  we  find  the  gradation  from  good  to  poor  land. 
All  of  these  soils  are  more  or  less  sandy.  Sometimes  the 
rocks  from  which  they  have  been  derived  were  mostly  made 
up  of  qitartz;  in  which  case  the  land  becomes  very  light  and 
sandy.  In  many  localities,  the  gray  lands  hold  considera- 
ble quantities  of  quartz  fragments  upon  the  surface,  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  render  the  ground  very  stoney.  As  an 
example  of  a typical  fairly  good  gray  soil  derived  from 
gneiss,  the  analysis  of  samples  taken  from  six  miles  north 
of  Opelika, at  a depth  of  eight  inches,  shows  according  to  the 
analysis  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Alabama: — potash 
0.067;  lime  0.167;  phosphoric  Acid  0.229  per  cent.  The 
soils  derived  from  mica  schists  are  inferior.  Those  derived 
from  hydromica  slates  are  still  poorer.  The  analysis  of  a sam- 
ple of  this  last  soil,  from  north  of  Roanoke  gave: — potash 


72 


0.536;  lime  0.010;  phosphoric  acid  0.067  per  cent.  Thus 
we  see  that  the  land  is  deficient-  in  both  lime  and  phosphoric 
acid . 

The  Red  Lands.  These  soils  are  derived  from  hornblend- 
ic  gneisses  or  slates  rich  in  iron-bearing  minerals.  An  or- 
dinary sample  from  near  Opelika  gave: — potash,  0.350;  lime, 
0.43;  phosphoric  acid,  0.17  percent.  This  sample  is  deficient 
in  potash,  but  it  is  found  to  retain  the  moisture  better  than 
the  gray  land.  The  red  soils  are  much  more  loamy  or  clayey 
than  the  gray  As  an  example  of  other  red  lands  than 
those  derived  from  hornblende  rocks,  the  following  analysis 
is  that  of  a garnetiferous  mica  schist  from  Clay  County, 
Ala.: — potash,  0.351;  lime,  0.03S;  phosphoric  acid,  0.137 
per  cent.  It  is  deficient  in  lime,  but  in  good  seasons  this 
soil  is  fairly  productive. * 

The  red  lands  are  considered  the  best  for  corn  and 
grains,  and  formerly  were  generally  regarded  as  the  best 
soil.  Now-a-day,  the  farmers  prefer  the  gray  soil,  as  it  is  the 
more  easily  worked,  the  more  certain  of  good  crops,  and  is 
better  cotton  land.  The  micaceous  soils  require  to  be  ar- 
tificially fertilized  with  phosphoric  acid  (including  the  con- 
tained lime)  and  ammonia.  Some  of  the  red  soils  would  be 
rendered  fertile  by  the  application  of  lime  alone.  Of  lime- 
stone, there  is  abundance  along  the  Macon  and  Birmingham 
Railway. 

The  trees  growing  upon  the  richer  red  and  gray  lands 
are  very  much  alike,  consisting  of  oak  and  hickory,  with  a 
few  short-leaf  pines. 

The  distribution  of  the  different  lands  cannot  be  sharply 
defined  as  the  red-producing-soil  rocks  are  frequently  alterna- 
ting with  those  producing  gray  soils.  But  the  poorest  gray 

*A11  of  these  analyses  are  taken  from  the  Report  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey of  Alabama  for  1881. 


73 


lands  are  mostly  confined  to  tlie  western  portion  of  the  meta- 
morpliic  region,  where  they  are  derived  from  the  hydro- 
mica  slates. 

The  Physical  Features.  Throughout  the  whole  meta~ 
morphic  region  the  country  is  rolling,  and  has  generally  a 
rounded  appearance,  with  very  few  abrupt  hills  or  deep 
water  courses.  When  the  slope  of  the  land  is  less  than 
twenty  degrees,  it  is  arable.  Hot  many  of  the  hills  are  even 
as  steep  as  this  angle.  In  fact,  the  hill  tops  are  flattened 
rounded  surfaces,  and  the  valleys  are  relatively  broad  and 
shallow.  Only  adjacent  to  a few  of  the  rivers  in  Georgia 
and  eastern  Alabama  is  the  country  so  rough  as  to  greatly 
interfere  with  agriculture.  But  from  the  region  of  the  Tal- 
lapoosa Elver  to  the  western  margin  of  the  metamorphic 
country,  there  rises  a considerable  number  of  ridges  that 
interrupt  farming  operations. 

Distribution  of  the  Soils  along  the  Line  of  the  Eail- 

road. 

For  the  first  twenty  miles  from  Macon,  the  gray  land  pre- 
dominates. From  the  region  of  Culloden  to  beyond  Thom- 
aston  the  red  soils  are  much  the  commoner.  For  several 
miles  on  either  side  of  Woodbury  the  land  is  gray,  and  about 
that  village  it  is  very  sandy  and  light.  Hence,  west- 
ward, the  red  and  gray  soils  are  somewhat  more  commin- 
gled. From  a few  miles  east  of  Lagrange,  and  thence  extend- 
ing to  beyond  the  State  Line,  the  red  soils  mostly 
predominate.  These  .red  earths  being  richer  in  clay  than  the 
gray  are  more  apt  to  be  cut  into  deep  gullies  than  the  gray 
lands,  by  the  action  of  rains.  After  the  first  few  miles  of 
Alabama  are  passed,  the  predominance  of  wide  belts  of  red 
land  are  less  frequent  than  in  Georgia.  At  the  same  time, 
the  country  becomes  more  rugged,  especially  through  Clay 
County  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  Talladega.  There  the  soils 


74 


are  in  part  derived  from  the  rocks  of  the  gneiss  ridges,  but 
the  valleys  are  in  part  more  or  less  underlaid  by  hydromica 
schists.  In  the  more  western  portion  of  the  metamorphie 
region,  the  hills  are  of  slates  or  schists,  which  produce  very 
poor  land.  But  the  portion  of  the  county  which  contains 
more  or  less  gneissic  ridges,  is  of  better  quality  than  at  first 
sight  might  appear;  for  most  of  the  surface  soils  have  been 
shifted  somewhat  during  the  long  ages  of  their  formation, 
and  thus  the  poorer  hydromica  lands  have  mixed,  with  them 
the  richer  washes  of  the  hill  sides,  which  are  productive. 
The  gold  belt  embraces  the  rocks  beneath  the  very  poor 
ridges  of  hydromicas.  In  some  places,  these  last  earths  pass 
into  others,  derived  from  a more  slaty  rock,  as  on  the  ridges 
both  east  and  west  of  Porter’s  Gap,  where  the  soil  is  scan- 
ty and  is  composed  of  almost  undecomposed  shale  coming 
to  the  surface.  Bough  quartz  stones  almost  completely  cov- 
er the  ground  in  many  places,  but  as  these  are  usually  only 
on  the  surface,  good  soil  may  be  found  beneath,  when  it  ha^ 
been  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  gneiss.  Except  the 
slaty  ridges,  there  are  few  that  are  not  fit  for  fruits,  where 
otherwise  too  steep  for  cultivation.  Although  Clay  County 
is  so  broken,  and  at  first  sight  the  rocks  might  seem  to  in- 
dicate that  the  land  is  poor,  yet  there  are  many  fine  farms. 
Indeed, I have  seen  there  in  the  troughs  between  the  ridges, 
some  of  the  finest  farms  along  the  Railway,  as  in  the  region 
of  Hillabee. 


LOWER  PALAEOZOIC  SOILS. 

These  extend  from  the  margin  of  the  metamorphie  rocks, 
about  four  miles  east  of  Talladega  to  about  six  miles  west 
of  the  Coosa  Biver,  where  the  Carboniferous  system  begins. 
This  region,  as  has  been  noted  before,  consists  of  a series  of 
ridges  and  troughs  composed  mostly  of  rocks  of  the  Ivnox 
series  (except  a limited  development  of  the  Potsdam).  As  to 


75 


the  ridges,  they  are  usually  covered  with  cherty  nodules  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  land  is  not  used.  These  are  the 
remnants  of  the  upper  silicious  dolomite  of  the  Knox  series, 
and  the  soil  is  gray.  Whilst  some  of  these  ridges  are  al- 
most barren,  others  are  shown  to  be  fertile,  where  not  thick- 
ly covered  with  the  chert,  or  where  it  has  been  removed, 
as  it  is  only  superficial.  These  ridges,  in  their  original  con- 
dition, are  often  covered  with  good  pines.  Some  of  them 
have  sandy  soil.  Many  of  them  are  excellently  adapted  to 
fruit  growing.  The  lands  in  the  valleys  are  to  some  extent 
derived  from  the  Knox  shales,  in  which  case  they  are  thin. 
But  much  of  it  is  derived  from  the  decay  of  the  impure 
Knox  dolomite.  Here  then,  occupying  a large  proportion 
of  the  valley,  are  some  most  fertile  parts  of  Ala- 
bama. The  best  of  this  soil  is  that  derived  from  the  lower 
portion  of  the  series.  It  is  commonly  of  a reddish  color, 
from  the  presence  of  the  iron  in  the  rock.  In  short,  this 
land  is  derived  from  the  same  rock  as  that  which  furnished 
the  brown  ore  beds.  The  soils  derived  from  the  Knox  dol- 
mite  usually  contain  sufficient  potash,  lime  and  phosphoric 
acid. 

Thus  the  lands  in  the  valley  of  Talladega  Creek,  and  in 
the  valley  of  the  Coosa  River,  as  also  in  the  outlying  val- 
ley of  the  Little  Cahaba  River,  at  Leeds,  are  very  excel- 
lent. However,  some  of  the  soils  in  the  region  of  Tallade- 
ga, and  along  the  Coosa  River  are  composed  of  red  loams, 
and  to  a small  extent  of  gravel,  belonging  to  the  Southern 
drift,  this  being  derived  by  washes  from  the  higher  dolo- 
rnitic  beds,  at  a time  when  the  waters  were  backed  to  high 
levels,  far  up  the  valleys. 

The  soils  derived  from  the  Trenton  and  Clinton  series 
occupy  too  narrow  an  area,  a few  miles  east  of  Birmingham, 
to  be  considered,  yet  such  as  are  cultivated  are  fertile. 


16 

CARBONIFEROUS  SOILS. 


ihe  Lower  Carboniferous  limestones  yield  good  soils,  but 
the  surface  distribution  is  too  limited  to  be  of  much  im- 
portance. The  Carboniferous  soils  along  the  Railway  are 
those  which  cover  the  Coosa  and  . Cahaba  coal  fields,  and 
are  derived  from  the  decay  of  the  shales,  sandstones  and 
conglomerates.  They  are  generally  sandy,  although  with  a 
clay  subsoil.  In  color,  they  vary  from  reddish  to  gray,  the 
lighter  being  usually  the  more  productive  land.  But  they  are 
all  indifferent  soils,  being  deficient  in  lime  and  vegetable 
matter.  Still  they  are  capable  of  improvement,  as  they  hold 
the  fertilizers. 

CRETACEOUS  AND  SOUTHERN  DRIFT  SOILS- 

The  very  light  sandy  soils,  on  or  along  the  sides  of  the 
hills,  for  a few  miles  westward  of  Macon  are  the  only  soils 
belonging  to  the  Cretaceous  series.  The  sands  are  often 
underlaid  by  whitish  clays.  The  land  is  very  poor. 

The  red  loam  and  the  subjacent  gravel,  on  the  hills  adja-' 
cent  to  Macon,  belong  to  the  Southern  Drift.  There  are 
also  small  developments  of  this  along  the  Chattahoochee 
and  Tallapoosa  Rivers,  in  the  valley  of  Talladega,  and  along 
the  Coosa  River.  These  deposits  are  found  on  the  hills  to 
sixty,  and  in  some  cases,  to  a hundred  and  twenty  feet  above 
the  respective  streams.  These  loams  are  generally  fertile 
and  are  especially  adapted  to  fruit  growing. 

Simple  alluvial  lands  are  developed  to  only  a very  small 
extent  along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Rail- 
way, as  the  rivers  do  not  overflow  broad  bottoms.  Still 
along  some  of  the  streams  the  lands  are  enriched  by  the 
overflows. 

The  Cultivation  and  the  Pkice  of  the  Land.  But  a 
small  proportion  of  the  country  along  the  Macon  and  Birin- 


Ingham  Railway,  east  of  Clay  County,  Alabama,  is  unfit  for 
cultivation.  From  this  county  westward,  there  is  a much 
larger  amount  of  the  land  which  is  of  little  value,  yet  in 
the  western  district,  there  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  most 
fertile  belts  of  Alabama,  in  the  broad  depressions,  amongst 
the  ridges,  and  adjacent  to  the  streams. 

The  price  of  land  is  generally  very  low,  as  much  of  the 
road  is  far  from  other  railways,  and  these  cross-tile  zone,  at 
only  a few  points,  in  place  of  running  through  it.  Perhaps 
the  highest  priced  land,  adjacent  to  such  places  as  Lagrange 
and  Thomaston,  is  $20.00  an  acre.  But  a few  miles  away 
from  the  Railway,  both  in  Georgia  and  in  the  Talladega  and 
Coosa  valleys,  the  highest  price  does  not  exceed  twelve  dol- 
lars an  acre, and  that  very  soon  diminishes  to  from  five  to  sev- 
en dollars  for  the  best  farms.  Fair  land,  partly  in  cultivation 
can  be  obtained  for  as  low  as  three  dollars.  The  reason  for 
the  low  price  of  land  is  the  want  of  population.  The  farms 
are  being  held  in  too  large  tracts,  of  which  only  a small  pro- 
portion is  being  cultivated. 

The  mode  of  cultivation  is  most  commonly  wasteful, — tak- 
ing everything  from  the  land  and  giving  nothing  back. 
Everywhere,  the  value  of  fertilizers  to  the  land  is  such  that 
they  abundantly  repay  the  outlay.  These  will  come  into 
more  extensive  use,  when  the  country  is  made  more  access- 
ible by  the  Railway,  and  when  a denser  population  resorts 
to  more  frugal  farming.  Indeed,  in  Georgia,  with  the  mod- 
ern use  of  artificial  fertilizers,  the  cotton  belt  has  crept  fif- 
ty miles  inland,  upon  the  metamorphic  soils.  But 
it  is  not  always  the  more  expensive  guano  that  the  soil  needs. 
Often  the  simple  return  of  the  cotton  seed,  or  its  meal,  to 
the  land  is  all  that  is  necessary.  To  this,  however,  the  addi- 
tion of  lime  over  the  metamorphic  lands  is  always  desirable. 
The  lime  can  be  obtained  from  the  marls  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  State  or  from  the  limestones  of  the  Talladega  val- 


78 


ley.  But  throughout  many  portions  of  the  country,  the 
cotton  seed,  where  not  sold,  is  fed  to  cattle,  and  the  barn- 
yard manure  is  allowed  to  go  to  waste.  One  farmer  in- 
formed me  that  on  some  soil  that  would  not  yield  a half  a 
bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre,  he  had  obtained  by  the  use  of  the 
barn-yard  manure  two  and  a quarter  bales.  This  is  in  keep- 
ing with  the  results  of  experiments  quoted  by  Prof.  R'uff- 
ner,  which  showed  that  the  manure  from  the  feeding  of  a 
ton  of  cotton-seed  cake  was  found  to  be  worth  to  the  land, 
$27.80  gold;  for  with  only  the  removal  of  the  cotton  lint, 
and  with  the  return  of  the  rest  of  the  crop  to  the  land,  the 
soil  retains  its  fertility.  Besides  cotton,  which  is  the  mon- 
ey crop,  corn  and  other  small  grain  thrive  well.  On  the 
richer  valley  lands,  ribbon  or  sugar  cane  is  found  to  be  a 
most  profitablecrop.  Fruits  grow  in  abundance,  and  are  of 
excellent  quality.  In  fact,  the  country  traversed  by  the 
Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway  produces  nearly  every- 
thing that  the  farmer  wants. 

The  Population.  Along  the  line  of  the  Macon  and 
Birmingham  Railway,  in  Georgia,  there  is  a considerable 
per  centage  of  negro  population,  yet  smaller  than  in  other 
portions  of  the  State.  But  as  soon  as  we  pass  into  Alabama, 
there  is  a great  paucity  of  the  colored  race,  except  adjacent 
to  Talladega  town.  The  people  are  almost  entirely  white. 
The  vdiole  belt  is  thinly  settled,  at  least  the  farms  are  sev- 
eral times  too  large  for  the  labor  available.  In  Alabama, 
this  thinness  of  population  is  still  more  noticeable  than  in 
Georgia,  but,  there,  the  county  has  been  farther  away  from 
railroad  facilities.  There  is  plenty  of  room  for  thousands 
of  new  homes,  and  even  then,  the  country  would  not  be 
thickly  settled. 

The  Climate  is  excellent.  As  the  country  is  high  with 
generally  porous  land,  there  is  the  general  absence  of  mala- 
rial diseases.  Homes  scattered  over  the  rolling  hills  of  Geor- 


79 


gia,  and  in  the  valleys  of  Alabama  are  amongst  the  most 
happily  situated  in  the  South.  Nor  does  one  feel  the  heat 
excessively  in  this  region.  Whilst  making  the  survey  I did 
not  feel  the  heat  more  oppressive  than  had  I been  doing  the 
same  work  in  Ohio  or  New  York,  the  difference  being  that 
it  was  more  continuous,  but  the  extremes  were  not  so  great, 
and  the  nights  were  cool. 

Everywhere  throughout  the  region  good  water  is  easily 
obtainable.  There  is  at  the  present  time,  few  regions  that 
offer  such  cheap  and  good  farms  in  a pleasant,  healthful 
climate,  with  varied  surroundings,  than  the  homes  available 
along  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway. 


80 


V— WATER-POWERS. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Manufactures  in  the  South  ha%,  in 
part,  arisen  from  the  occurrence  of  many  water-powers. 
Along  or  adjacent  to,  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway, 
there  are  numerous  water-powers,  many  of  which  are  now 
utilized,  as  the  sites  of  small  local  mills.  These  powers  are 
usually  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  high,  but  by  darning  they 
could  often  be  raised  somewhat  higher,  and  the  supply  of 
water,  during  dry  seasons,  rendered  more  constant. 

In  Georgia,  the  two  best  powers  on  the  Railway,  are 
Roger's  Shoals  on  Potato  Creek,  two  and  a half  miles  west 
of  Thomaston,  and  at  Tobler’s. 

Roger’s  Shoals.  This  is  one  of  the  best  powers  in 
Georgia.  It  consists  of  a succession  of  shoals,  and  within 
half  a mile,  the  fall  exceeds  sixty  feet,  most  of  which  is 
at  three  or  four  points.  As  the  valley  is  deep  and  narrow, 
the  waters  could  be  dammed  to  any  desired  height.  The 
volume  of  water  is  large, and  even  without  being  accumulated 
by  a dam,  it  is  capable  of  supplying  power  to  several  large 
mills.  The  Engraving  facing  this  page  represents  the  sur- 
face of  one  of  the  main  shoals,  at  a point  where  there  is  a 
fall  of  about  fifteen  feet.  The  photograph  was  taken  from 
an  elevated  island  in  the  rapids,  and  thus  does  not  show 
the  fall  of  the  water.  Here  also,  there  is  an  abundance  of 
gneiss  or  granite  rock  (over  which  the  waters  rush)  for 
either  building,  or  for  dam  construction. 

Tobler’s  Rapids  are  over  two  excellent  shoals,  and  in  situ- 
ation are  not  inferior  to  the  Roger’s,  but  the  volume  of 
water  is  smaller,  yet  the  darning  facilities  are  excellent. 

In  Alabama,  there  are  several  good  powers  along  the 
Railway. 

At  Louina,  there  is  now  a dam  of  six  feet,  thrown 
across  the  Tallapoosa  River.  The  volume  of  water  is  very 
large,  and  the  river  is  wide.  Below  the  village,  near  where 


81 


the  Railway  crosses,  there  is  a lower  dam.  But  at  about 
two  miles  above  Louiua,  the  rapids  are  much  greater.  In 
fact,  it  is  the  best  power  along  the  Railway,  in  Alabama.  The 
height  would  be  fifteen  feet  or  more.  The  width  of  the 
river  is  considerable,  but  it  is  broken  by  islands,  which 
would  be  favorable  for  the  building  of  factories,  and  tlms 
the  full  extent  of  the  broad  water-power  could  be  more 
easily  utilized. 

There  are  smaller  powers  at  Bluff  Springs,  and  near 
Hillabee.  Oft'  the  survey,-  a short  distance,  there  is  now  a 
large  factory  at  Rock  Mills,  and  there  are  several  other  fac- 
tories only  a few  miles  from  the  Railway. 

Craigdale  or  Taylor’s  Mills.  West  of  the  Tallapoosa, 
we  find  an  excellent  power  at  Craigdale,  about  four  miles 
east  of  Talladega.  Here,  there  is  a stream  cutting  a canon 
through  slaty  rocks.  The  present  dam  across  the  narrow 
gorge  is  fifteen  feet  high.  But  a dam,  or  a succesion  of  dams, 
could  be  easily  raised  to  seventy  feet.  At  the  head  of  the 
present  dam,  across  the  Talladega  Creek,  there  is  a low  wa- 
ter-fall as  shown  in  the  picture  opposite  page  83.  This  is 
by  far  the  best  water-power  in  the  vacinity  of  Talladga,  and 
it  would  doubtless  be  used  to  its  full  extent,  if  railroads 
were  passing  close  to  it.  It  is  an  excellent  site  for  any  of 
the  rising  iron  or  other  manufacturing  industries  of  the  Tal- 
ladega valley. 

W est  of  Talladega, the  mos't  important  water-power  is  the 
dam  at  the  crossing. of  the  Coosa  River.  It  is  now  six  feet 
high,  but  could  raised  to  double  that  height.  The  govern- 
ment is  at  work  in  rendering  the  river  navagable.  The 
river  is  several  hundred  feet  wide,  and  the  volume  of  water 
is  great.  Beyond  this  point,  there  are  no  important  powers, 
although,  there  are  several  of  small  volumes,  such  as  that  at 
Landrum’s  Mills. 


S2 


As  the  whole  of  the  country,  traversed  by.  the  Railway,  is 
through  a cotton  belt,  there  is  every  reason  that  many  fac- 
tories should  spring  up.  There  are  scores  of  small  mill- 
sites  near  the  road,  some  of  which  are  now  used  for  corn  or 
other  mills.  In  fact,  with  the  railway  facilities  for  getting 
grain,  the  local  millers  could  afford  to  grind  it  in  place  of 
importing  the  flour  already  made. 

Many  local  industries  will  doubtless  spring  up  as  the 
country  is  opened  to  further  settlement,  and  more  easy 
commercial  facilities;  and  these  industries  will  in  many 
cases  cause  towns  to  arise  adjacent  to  natural  water  powers. 


VI.— SPRINGS  AND  RESORTS, 

Warm  Springs,  a few  miles  westward  of  Thomaston,  is  a 
local  resort.  The  water  is  only  a few  degrees  above  the 
natural  temperature  of  other  springs  of  the  district.  Here? 
there  is  a very  large  stream  of  beautiful  water,  welling  out 
from  the  foot  of  a hill,  covered  with  loose  stones,  the  size  of 
cobble,  which  is  led  into  some  bath  houses.  With  the  ex- 
penditure of  some  capital  in  the  building  of  a small  ho- 
tel, the  importance  of  these  Springs  would  increase,  for 
there  is  no  other  particularly  favored  resort  in  this  part  of 
country. 

Chandler’s  Springs.  These  are  situated  one  mile  east 
of  Porter’s  Gap,  upon  the  eastern  side  of  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains of  Talladega,  and  have  an  elevation  of  nearly  a 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The  situation  is  rather  beauti- 
ful. The  springs  are  chalybiate.  Around  them,  there  are 
twenty  cabins  or  more,  and  at  times  as  many  as  two  hum 


83 


dred  people  have  been  summering  here.  But,  at  present, 
the  Springs  are  rather  inaccessible,  requiring  the  traveller  to 
take  a along  drive  over  the  mountains  from  Talladega,  When 
the  Railway  will  pass  through  Porter’s  Gap,  there  seems  to 
be  good  reason  to  suppose  a more  important  resort  might 
be  built  up. 

Craigdale. — The  canon  of  Talladega  Creek,  as  it 
emerges  from  the  mountains  at  Taylor’s  Mills,  into  the  smil- 
ing valley,  is  by  far  the  most  beautiful  situation  for  a sum- 
mer resort  along  the  whole  line  of  the  Macon  and  Birming- 
ham Railway.  The  gorge  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
picturesque  sites  in  Alabama  or  the  South,  Here,  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  gorge,  there  is  a dam  which  backs  up  the 
water  about  half  a mile,  between  bold  walls  of  slaty  rock, 
which  often  overhang  the  creek,  and  give  shelter  to 
boats  which  may  rest  beneath  them.  At  the  head  of  the 
dam  (which  ought  to  be  raised  eight  feet)  there  is  a pictur- 
esque fall  amongst  the  rocks  as  shown  on  the  plate  facing 
this  page.  Above  the  falls  the  rapids  may  be  ascended  for 
miles.  The  creek  is  one  of  the  few  streams  that  cut  across 
these  mountains,  and  hence  the  features  are  bolder  than 
those  of  the  valleys  which  run  parallel  the  mountains. 
The  hills  about  Cragdale  are  as  picturesque  as  the  gorge 
itself.  There  are  very  few  resorts  which  have,  in  addition 
to  the  general  attractiveness,  such  a beautiful  lake.  The 
future  of  Craigdale  is  perhaps  unsettled — whether  the  wa- 
ter-power will  cause  it  to  become  the  site  of  a manufactur- 
ing suburb  of  Talladega;  or  whether,  with  the  Railway 
a mile  or  two  oft,  it  becomes  a summer  resort,  remains  to 
be  seen. 


84 


Y1I  SUMMARY  OF  THE  FREIGHT-PROD' UCIKG 
Resources  along  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway. 

The  physical  features  along  belt  explored  are  such  that 
the  Railway  can.be  built  with  a maximutfgrade  of  only  fifty- 
three  feet  per  mile,  across  a comparatively  direct  course,  so 
as  to  reduce  the  distance  to  about  240  miles.  The  different 
geological  formations  are  discribed  (p.  p.  5-20),  so  as  to 
show  those  which  contain  useful  minerals,  and  those  from 
which  the  different  soils  are  derived. 

Of  the  different  minerals,  iron,  coal  and  limestone  are  the 
most  important,  as  they  make  this  South  country  amongst 
the  richest  regions  in  America. 

In  the  Birmingham  district',  there  are  already  about  twen- 
ty-five furnaces,  and  more  are  in  construction.  The  capacity, 
in  1890  will  reach  about  800,000  tons  of  pig  iron,  the  cost 
of  which  can  be  reduced  to  between  seven  and  eight  dollars 
a ton.  The  present  freight,  by  way  of  Savannah  and  the 
sea,  to  Hew  York  is  about  $3.85  a ton  (see  p.  50  and  follow- 
ing). The  route  to  the  sea,  by  the  Macon  and  Birmingham 
Railway,  will  be  more  direct  and  of  easier  grade  than  any 
of  the  existing  roads.  A large  amount  of  the  iron  pro- 
duced now,  reaches  the  northern  market  by  way  of  longer 
roads  and  the  sea. 

Although  the  production  of  iron  is  very  large,  the  manu- 
ufactures  from  it  are  still  in  their  infancy  in  the  South,  but 
they  are  rapidly  growing, 

The  valley,  in  which  Talladega,  Anniston,  etc.,  are  situ- 
uated,  furnishes  an  enormous  quantity  of  ore,  but  the  pro- 
duction is  as  yet  less  than  a fourth  of  that  in  the  Birming- 
ham district — the  capacity  for  1890  being  about  175,000 
tons.  Much  of  this  is  charcoal  iron.  About  Talladega 
there  is  room  for  many  new  furnaces.  And  this  is  the  fin- 
est iron  in  the  South.  The  first  Talladega  furnace  has  a 


85 


capacity  of  about  35,000  tons  a year,  and  a second  is  shortly 
to  be  built.  The  natural  outlet  for  this  iron  is  by  the  Ma- 
con and  Birmingham  Railway;  either  to  the  east  or  west. 
Besides  freight  on  iron,  the  furnace  consumes  about  450 
tons  of  coke  a day,  which  would  naturally  come  over 
the  road  from  the  west.  And  I think  it  quite  safe  to 
predict  that  as  many  as  eight  or  ten  furnaces  can  be  de- 
veloped, in  the  valley  adjacent  to  the  survey.  All  of  the 
coke, carried  to  the  Talladega  region  for  new  furnaces  would 
naturally  pass  over  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  road,  and 
this  would  add  enormously  to  the  tonnage.  A portion  of 
the  iron  from  Anniston,  Janiper  and  Ironaton  would  also 
find  its  way  over  this  road,  as  it  is  now  carried  by  longer 
routes  to  the  sea. 

Another  large  source  of  tonnage  for  the  road  will  be  the 
brown  ores  for  Birmingham,  as  they  are  sought  after  for 
mixing  with  the  local  ores,  (see  p.  27  and  following.) 

A number  of  other  localities  (p.  p.  33-35)  is  given,  which 
will  yield  ores  for  shipment,  if  not  for  local  furnaces,  at 
local  towns. 

Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  mineral  industries  of 
the  Birmingham  district  may  be  drawn  from  the  quantity 
of  the  coal  product,  which  now  reaches  about  4,500,000 
tons  a year  (p.  45).  Mot  only  the  supply  of  coke  for  the 
furnaces  along  the  Railway,  but  also  the  supply  of  coal  for 
the  whole  line,  and  for  much  of  Central  Georgia,  should 
be  carried  over  the  Macon  and  Birmingham  Railway.  This 
road  passes  over  the  Cahaba  coal  fields  (p.  37  and  follow- 
ing). The  quantity  is  practically  unlimited,  and  the  quali- 
ty is  amongst  the  finest  in  the  United  States.  It  is  gener- 
ally better  than  the  more  western  coals. 

The  marble  and  the  limestones  (p.  45  and  following)  are  in 
large  quantities  and  will  furnish  considerable  freight  for  the 
road  the  largest  tonnage  being  for  furnaces,  and  for  the  sup- 


86 


plying  lime  along  the  Railway,  and  to  Central  Georgia.  The 
land  would  also  be  benefitted  by  the  free  use  of  lime. 

Gold,  pyrites  and  graphite  will  add  to  the  industries  of 
the  country,  and  thus  to  the  tonnage,  (p.  p.  56,  59,  60). 

The  line  beds  of  granite  and  of  roofing  slate  will  doubt- 
less afford  freight  both  ways  (p.p.  62,  66)  as  well  as  the  lime- 
stone and  marble  for  building  purposes. 

The  timbers  and  the  tan-bark  will  furnish  large  quanti- 
fies of  freight  for  some  time  to  come. 

The  water-powers  afford  excellent  sites  for  mills  and 
factories,  several  of  which  already  exist  (p.  80.) 

A large  proportion  of  the  belt  forms  an  excellent  agri- 
cultural country,  much  of  which  is  now  very  distant  from 
railway  facilities  (p.  p.  69-77).  As  the  population  is  thin, 
(and  mostly  of  Whites)  there  is  room  for  the  development  of 
thousands  of  new  homes,  (p.78). 

From  the  agricultural  and  commercial  points  of  view,  the 
necessity  of  the  road  is  felt.  Add  to  this,  the  mineral 
wTealtli.  The  railroad  is  certain  to  get  a fair  share  of  the 

800.000  tons  of  iron  which  represent  the  the  capacity  of  the 
furnaces  of  the  Birmingham  district.  Also  much  of  the 

175.000  tons  of  the  Talladega  and  Anniston  district,  will 
pass  over  the  road,  besides  a large  amount  of  the  incoming 
coke.  A still  larger  proportion  of  the  future  tonnage  of 
the  immediate  Talladega  region  may  be  looked  for,  which, 
from  the  natural  resources,  promises  to  reach  in  a few  years, 
to  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  tons  of  iron,  and  much 
more  than  that  of  coke. 


THE  GEOLOGICAL  MAP. 

The  outlines  of  the  Geological  formations  were  determined  by  the 
G eological  Survey  of  Alabama,  Although  a belt  of  rocks,  extending  in  both 
directions  from  Porter's  Gap,  is  crystalline,  it  is  represented  as 
Pakeozoic  (and  not  Archaean)  for  it  is  regarded  as  a metamorphic 
Cambrian  formation. 


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